GSTP1 Loss results in accumulation of oxidative DNA base damage and promotes prostate cancer cell survival following exposure to protracted oxidative stress.

BACKGROUND: Epigenetic silencing of glutathione S-transferase π (GSTP1) is a hallmark of transformation from normal prostatic epithelium to adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The functional significance of this loss is incompletely understood. The present study explores the effects of restored GSTP1 expression on glutathione levels, accumulation of oxidative DNA damage, and prostate cancer cell survival following oxidative stress induced by protracted, low dose rate ionizing radiation (LDR). METHODS: GSTP1 protein expression was stably restored in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. The effect of GSTP1 restoration on protracted LDR-induced oxidative DNA damage was measured by GC-MS quantitation of modified bases. Reduced and oxidized glutathione levels were measured in control and GSTP1 expressing populations. Clonogenic survival studies of GSTP1- transfected LNCaP cells after exposure to protracted LDR were performed. Global gene expression profiling and pathway analysis were performed. RESULTS: GSTP1 expressing cells accumulated less oxidized DNA base damage and exhibited decreased survival compared to control LNCaP-Neo cells following oxidative injury induced by protracted LDR. Restoration of GSTP1 expression resulted in changes in modified glutathione levels that correlated with GSTP1 protein levels in response to protracted LDR-induced oxidative stress. Survival differences were not attributable to depletion of cellular glutathione stores. Gene expression profiling and pathway analysis following GSTP1 restoration suggests this protein plays a key role in regulating prostate cancer cell survival. CONCLUSIONS: The ubiquitous epigenetic silencing of GSTP1 in prostate cancer results in enhanced survival and accumulation of potentially promutagenic DNA adducts following exposure of cells to protracted oxidative injury suggesting a protective, anti-neoplastic function of GSTP1. The present work provides mechanistic backing to the tumor suppressor function of GSTP1 and its role in prostate carcinogenesis.

Deciphering the intracellular fate of Propionibacterium acnes in macrophages.

Propionibacterium acnes is a Gram-positive bacterium that colonizes various niches of the human body, particularly the sebaceous follicles of the skin. Over the last years a role of this common skin bacterium as an opportunistic pathogen has been explored. Persistence of P. acnes in host tissue has been associated with chronic inflammation and disease development, for example, in prostate pathologies. This study investigated the intracellular fate of P. acnes in macrophages after phagocytosis. In a mouse model of P. acnes-induced chronic prostatic inflammation, the bacterium could be detected in prostate-infiltrating macrophages at 2 weeks postinfection. Further studies performed in the human macrophage cell line THP-1 revealed intracellular survival and persistence of P. acnes but no intracellular replication or escape from the host cell. Confocal analyses of phagosome acidification and maturation were performed. Acidification of P. acnes-containing phagosomes was observed at 6 h postinfection but then lost again, indicative of cytosolic escape of P. acnes or intraphagosomal pH neutralization. No colocalization with the lysosomal markers LAMP1 and cathepsin D was observed, implying that the P. acnes-containing phagosome does not fuse with lysosomes. Our findings give first insights into the intracellular fate of P. acnes; its persistency is likely to be important for the development of P. acnes-associated inflammatory diseases.

A mouse model of chronic prostatic inflammation using a human prostate cancer-derived isolate of Propionibacterium acnes.

BACKGROUND: Prostatic inflammation has been linked to a number of prostatic diseases such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis syndromes, and prostate cancer. Major unanswered questions include what pathogenic mechanisms, such as bacterial infections, may drive the accumulation of inflammatory infiltrates in the human prostate, and how inflammation might contribute to disease. To study this potential link in an in vivo system, we developed a mouse model of long-term bacteria-induced chronic inflammation of the prostate using a human prostatectomy-derived strain of Propionibacterium acnes. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were inoculated, via urethral catheterization, with vehicle control or a prostatectomy-derived strain of P. acnes (PA2). Animals were assessed at 2 days, 1, 2, or 8 weeks post-inoculation via histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS: PA2 inoculation resulted in severe acute and chronic inflammation confined to the dorsal lobe of the prostate. Chronic inflammation persisted for at least 8 weeks post-inoculation. Inflammatory lesions were associated with an increase in the Ki-67 proliferative index, and diminished Nkx3.1 and androgen receptor (AR) production. Interestingly, the observed response required live bacteria and both IHC and in situ hybridization assays for P. acnes indicated a potential intracellular presence of P. acnes in prostate epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first mouse model of long-term prostatic inflammation induced by P. acnes, and more generally, any prostatectomy-derived bacterial isolate. This model may serve as a valuable preclinical model of chronic prostatic inflammation that can be used to mechanistically study the link between inflammation and prostatic disease.