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The expression and actions of androgen receptor in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUTUC) tissues and the primary cultured cells

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Abstract

Sex hormone receptors, androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptors (ERs) including both ERα and ERβ, mediate the actions of sex hormones. In this study, we aimed to evaluate sex hormone receptors expression in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UUTUCs) of ureter and renal pelvis with different tumor stages and grades as well as their possible roles in tumor progression. Immunohistochemistry was used to assay the expression of AR and ERs in the primary UUTUCs. XTT viability test was applied to evaluate cell responses for anticancer drug treatment. Wound healing assay was performed to determine cell migration abilities. AR and ERβ immunoreactivities were observed in both UUTUCs, but ERα was not detected in either UUTUCs. In UUTUC of ureter specimens, higher AR expression was found in superficial or lower grade tumors. In contrast, little difference of ERβ expression was found in superficial versus muscle-invasive tumor stages or low grades versus high grades in UUTUCs of ureter specimens. Furthermore in the primary cultured cells from UUTUC specimens, the addition of functional AR reduced cell chemosensitivity, but increased cell migration. These results provide the first data showing the expression patterns of sex hormone receptors in both renal pelvis and ureter UUTUCs. From results, we concluded that there is a positive correlation for higher AR expression found in superficial or low-grade UUTUCs of ureter and identified the functional roles of AR in UUTUC progression.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Karen Wolf at University of Rochester for kindly editing the manuscript. This study was supported by the Grant (DMR-101-053) from China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. This study was also supported in part by Taiwan Department of Health Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence (DOH100-TD-B-111-004).

Conflict of interest

None of the contributing authors have any conflict of interest, including specific financial interests or relationships and affiliations relevant to the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sex Hormone Research Center, China Medical University/Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Chih-Rong Shyr, Chi-Cheng Chen, Teng-Fu Hsieh, Chao-Hsiang Chang, Wen-Lung Ma, Tsung-Heng Li, Fu-Yin Li & Chawnshang Chang

  2. Department of Urology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Chi-Cheng Chen & Chao-Hsiang Chang

  3. Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Chih-Rong Shyr

  4. Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Taichung Branch, Taichung, 427, Taiwan

    Teng-Fu Hsieh

  5. George Whipple Lab for Cancer Research, Departments of Pathology and Urology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Shuyuan Yeh, Edward Messing & Chawnshang Chang

  6. Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Teng-Fu Hsieh, Wen-Lung Ma & Chawnshang Chang

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  1. Chih-Rong Shyr
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Correspondence to Chih-Rong Shyr.

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Chih-Rong Shyr, Chi-Cheng Chen, and Teng-Fu Hsieh conributed equally to this work.

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Shyr, CR., Chen, CC., Hsieh, TF. et al. The expression and actions of androgen receptor in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUTUC) tissues and the primary cultured cells. Endocrine 43, 191–199 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-012-9762-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-012-9762-4

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