Variants of the human prostate LNCaP cell line as tools to study discrete components of the androgen-mediated proliferative response.

Androgens regulate the proliferation of their target cells through a sequential two-step mechanism. In the first step, androgens increase proliferation rates; following this proliferative response, a second step of proliferative shutoff ensues. Human prostate LNCaP cell variants were used to assess whether the proliferative and shutoff effects of androgens could be segregated selectively by manipulating the hormonal milieu. The LNCaP-FGC and LNCaP-LNO cell lines were derived from the same biopsy specimen but exhibited different proliferative responses. Cell proliferation was inhibited by treatment with 10% charcoal-dextran stripped human serum in the LNCaP-FGC variant but not in LNCaP-LNO cells. Physiological androgen concentrations induced a proliferative shutoff in LNCaP-LNO cells (G1 arrest), an effect also expressed by LNCaP-FGC cells. This G1 arrest was irreversible in the LNCaP-FGC variant but was reversed upon androgen withdrawal in LNCaP-LNO cells. A new variant (LNCaP-TJA) was selected from LNCaP-LNO cells treated with 30 nM methyltrienolone for 4 months; these cells proliferated maximally regardless of the presence of androgens. All three cell variants had functional androgen receptors, and androgens induced prostate-specific antigen secretion. The androgen-induced proliferative shutoff in LNCaP-FGC and LNO cells was partially antagonized by antiandrogens and was not mediated by autocrine factors. Finally, the variant LNCaP cell lines described herein are probably representative of phenotypes present in prostate cancer patients during the course of this disease and may arise from selective pressure imposed by therapeutic protocols aimed at modifying the hormonal milieu of the host.