The norepinephrine‐driven metastasis development of PC‐3 human prostate cancer cells in BALB/c nude mice is inhibited by β‐blockers

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2005 papers

Abstract

The development of metastases is a decisive step in the course of a cancer disease. The detection of metastases in cancer patients is correlated with a poor prognosis, and over 90% of all deaths from cancer are not due to the primary tumor, which often can be successfully treated, but are due to the metastases. Tumor cell migration, a prerequisite for metastasis development, is not merely genetically determined, but is distinctly regulated by signal substances of the environment including chemokines and neurotransmitters. We have shown previously that the migration of breast, prostate, and colon carcinoma cells is enhanced by the stress-related neurotransmitter norepinephrine in vitro, and that this effect can be inhibited by the beta-blocker propranolol. We now provide for the first time evidence for the in vivo relevance of this neurotransmitter-driven regulation using PC-3 prostate carcinoma cells. The development of lumbar lymph node metastases in athymic BALB/c nude mice increased with the application of norepinephrine via microosmotic pumps, while propranolol inhibited this effect. However, the growth of the primary tumor was not affected by either treatment. Additionally, experiments using human tissue microarrays showed that 70-90 percent of breast, colon, and prostate carcinoma tissues express the relevant beta2-adrenoceptor. Thus, our work contributes to the understanding of the basic cellular mechanisms of metastasis development, and furthermore delivers a rationale for the chemopreventive use of clinically established beta-blockers for the inhibition of metastases.

Related Papers

• → Propranolol exhibits activity against hemangiomas independent of beta blockade(2019)42 cited
• → Prostate cancers detected on repeat prostate biopsies show spatial distributions that differ from those detected on the initial biopsies(2014)7 cited
• → Plasma levels of (+) and (−)−propranolol and 4‐hydroxypropranolol after administration of racemic (+/‐)‐propranolol in man.(1982)80 cited
• → Stereospecific radioimmunoassay for propranolol isomers.(1976)102 cited
• Hemodynamic effects of propranolol with spironolactone in patients with variceal bleeds： A randomized controlled trial(2008)