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Biochanin A, a dietary flavonoid, reduces PSA levels in LNCaP prostate cancer cells by modulating testosterone metabolism

  1. Author:
    Sun, X. Y.
    Phang, J. M.
    1. Year of Conference: 1997
  1. Conference Name: HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment Conference
    1. 38
    2. Pages: A388
  2. Type of Work: Meeting Abstract
  1. Abstract:

    Our laboratory previously characterized androgen metabolism in an androgen-responsive prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) and showed that these cells accumulate intracellular testosterone (T) primarily as glucuronidated metabolites. We developed a cell-free assay for glucuronosyl transferase (GT) activity using tritiated T as substrate and showed that LNCaP cells have GT activity. Dietary factors, eg flavonoids, may reduce the risk for hormone-dependent cancers and our previous studies showed that biochanin A (BA) is a potent stimulator of GT activity in these cells. Since PSA levels are increased by testosterone, we asked whether the effect of BA on T inactivation might affect PSA production by LNCaP cells. PSA accumulation in the growth medium was linear for at least 6 days. Exposure of LNCaP cells to BA significantly decreased PSA levels at all time points. To analyze the interaction between T and BA on PSA secretion, LNCaP cells were grown in the presence or absence of 10 mM BA for 5 days. The medium was then replaced with BA-free medium with or without T (35 nM) for an additional 24 hr. Under these conditions, BA significantly decreased the T-stimulated release of PSA, presumably because BA increased GT and increased the intracellular glucuronidation of T. These studies suggest that the modulation of hormone metabolism by dietary factors may be important in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.

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