Etoposide induces growth arrest and disrupts androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer cells

Androgen and androgen receptor (AR)-mediated signaling are crucial for the development of prostate cancer. The present study indicates that the topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide strikingly inhibits androgen/AR-mediated cell growth and androgen-stimulated DNA synthesis in prostate cancer cells. Etoposide significantly repressed the AR mRNA and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. Etoposide-mediated down-regulation of AR was associated with blocking androgen-induced AR translocation from cytoplasm into nucleus of cells. Additionally, etoposide disrupted the association of AR and heat shock protein 90 and impeded binding of the synthetic androgen [(3)H]R1881 to AR in LNCaP cells. Etoposide simultaneously reduced the intracellular and secreted PSA levels, a marker for the progression of prostate cancer. These findings collectively reveal that etoposide not only serves as a traditional genotoxic agent but directly targets AR as an AR disrupting therapeutic strategy in prostate cancer.