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To assess the function of androgen receptor in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells, human PC-3 prostate carcinoma cells, which lack androgen receptor (AR) expression, were transfected with a full length human AR cDNA sequence inserted into an episomal expression vector system. Several clonal lines of transfected cells expressing varying levels of a 110 kDa AR, as determined by immunoblotting and ligand binding assay, were isolated. The expressed ectopic receptors displayed nuclear binding following androgen treatment and mediated androgen inducibility of a mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-luciferase reporter gene construct in a dose-dependent manner. 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) activation of luciferase activity was blocked by the AR antagonist hydroxyflutamide, and was promoter-specific based on the inability of the hormone-insensitive RSV promoter to respond to DHT. Treatment of AR-expressing PC-3 cells with physiological levels of DHT for 3 days resulted in paradoxical inhibition of cell growth. The growth-inhibitory effect was observed in clonal lines expressing low, moderate and high levels of AR, indicating that it was not the result of AR overexpression. To determine whether AR-expressing PC-3 cells had become androgen dependent, albeit with slowed growth, the effect of 1.0 nM DHT on the growth of two clonal lines expressing low and moderate receptor levels (PC-3(AR)13 and PC-3(AR)2, respectively) was examined on over an 18 day period. DHT removed after 3, 6, or 9 days and replaced with steroid-free medium. Surprisingly, after 6 days of DHT treatment, the number of PC-3(AR)2 cells began to decrease such that all cells were dead by 15 days after initiation of DHT treatment. A similar effect was observed in PC-3(AR)13 cells, but required a longer initial period of DHT exposure. PC-3(AR)2 cells were rescued from cell death if DHT was withdrawn 3 days but not 6 or 9 days after initiation of DHT treatment. As determined by DNA cell cycle analysis, the proportion of cells in the G1 phase was enhanced by DHT treatment, accompanied by a decrease in cells in the S and G2M phase of the cell cycle. After 6 days of DHT treatment, the proportion of cells in G1 decreased which was accompanied by an increase in cells in a subG1 population consistent with apoptosis. DNA fragmentation in PC-3(AR)2 cells after 3 or 6 days of DHT treatment was demonstrated by agarose gel electrophoresis, further indicating the cell death was apoptotic. Removal of DHT from PC-3(AR)2 cultures after 3 days, but not after 6 or 9 days, was followed by a large shift in cells from G1 to S and G2M. These data suggest that DHT blocks the progression of AR transfected PC-3 cells through the cell cycle, resulting in growth inhibition and apoptosis.

Dopaminergic signaling in pituitary lactotrophs is dependent on coupling of D2 receptors to several inhibitory G-protein subtypes, resulting in the activation of multiple signaling pathways. In prolactin-secreting GH4 cells that express cloned D2 receptors, dopamine selectively inhibits the activity of the prolactin gene promoter, a response mediated in part by the pituitary transcription factor Pit-1. Transfected gain-of-function mutants of the G alpha subtypes, Gi alpha 2 (Q205L) and G(o) alpha (Q205L), mimic the promoter-specific and Pit-1-dependent inhibition by dopamine. Whereas the activated Gi alpha 2 subtype suppresses cAMP levels, the G(o) alpha mutant does not, demonstrating a cAMP-independent pathway in the inhibition of the prolactin gene. This alternate pathway could involve other regulators, possibly calcium. Interestingly, in Ltk- cells in which cloned D2 receptors modestly suppress cAMP, but elevate [Ca2+]i, the activity of the prolactin promoter is enhanced rather than inhibited by dopamine. The response is promoter-specific, dependent on Pit-1, and completely blocked by low concentrations of EGTA, consistent with a calcium-regulated pathway. Last, in GH4 cells, the absence of additivity between Gi alpha 2 and G(o) alpha mutants suggests a convergent mechanism in the reduction of prolactin promoter activity, in which either signaling pathway may be sufficient for maximum inhibition. This apparent redundancy in inhibitory control mechanisms may be of physiological importance for maintaining efficient tonic suppression of prolactin synthesis.

Transcription of the prolactin gene is suppressed by dopaminergic activation of D2 receptors in pituitary lactotrophs. The mechanism of signal transduction at the nuclear level and the cell surface was examined in the dopamine-responsive GH4ZR7 cell line. Dopamine treatment caused a 40-50% decrease in endogenous prolactin mRNA that was specifically blocked by addition of (-)-sulpiride. To define dopamine-responsive elements, plasmids containing 5'-regulatory regions of the prolactin gene fused to the coding sequences for luciferase were transiently or stably transfected into GH4ZR7 cells. Chimeric transcripts initiated at the authentic transcription start site were regulated in a promoter-selective manner; dopamine or the agonist bromocryptine inhibited prolactin promoter (position -422) activity by 70%, but had no regulatory effects on other cellular or viral promoters. A shorter prolactin promoter (position -78) or a prolactin TATAA box linked to heterologous binding sites for transcription factor Pit-1 was sufficient to confer dopamine inhibition (40%). In addition to the prolactin promoter, we found that dopamine inhibited transcriptional activity of the Pit-1 promoter (positions -258 to +8) by 60%. Surprisingly, deletion of two cAMP response elements in the Pit-1 promoter only partially eliminated dopamine responsiveness. These data suggest that sequences in the Pit-1 promoter between positions -92 and +8, which include an autoregulatory Pit-1-binding site and the TATAA box, are sufficient for negative regulation. In this study, we also examined the signal transduction pathways that link D2 receptor activation and the inhibition of prolactin gene transcription. We found, as suggested in earlier studies, that a dopamine-dependent decrease in cAMP may be important for mediating negative regulation of transcription. However, high extracellular K+ concentrations that prevent dopamine effects on membrane potential and [Ca2+]i, but not cAMP levels, completely blocked dopamine regulation of the prolactin promoter. This suggests that two distinct signaling pathways initiated at D2 receptors may be required for transcriptional regulation of the prolactin gene.