Aim: To investigate the mechanism of androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer after androgen ablation in LNCaP cells and the effect of glucuronidation activity. Methods: To establish androgen-independent growth in prostate cancer LNCaP-SF, continuous passage was performed in androgen-stripped medium and the cells were evaluated for glucuronidation activity. The expression vector of antisense uridine diphosphate glucuronosyl-transferase (UGT) 2B15 cDNA was also constructed and evaluated. Results: LNCaP-SF lead to a higher expression in UGT2B15 and their glucuronidation activity is 2.5 times higher than that of LNCaP cells. Significantly fewer LNCaP and LNCaP-SF than control were transfected with the antisense UGT2B15 cDNA, suggesting that UGT2B15 plays an important part in the glucuronidation activity of androgens in both cells. Conclusion: The alteration of UGT2B15 expression in LNCaP-SF cells is proposed as a biological characteristic involved in the growth of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

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