Androgen-induced Epigenetic Profiles of Polycomb and Trithorax Genes in Prostate Cancer Cells

Background/Aim: Androgens are essential for the growth of most prostate cancers (PCa). As a result, androgen ablation is the mainstay of the treatment of PCa. Proteins of the polycomb and trithorax family are master epigenetic regulators of cell type specific gene expression including androgen receptor. Materials and Methods: We interrogated epigenetic changes of a 24-gene panel corresponding to polycomb and trithorax genes by PCR array and differential gene expression by quantitative real time-PCR on prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) treated with the synthetic ligand R1881. Results: We observed the highest methylation for CBX2, PCGF6, PHC2, EZH2 and TRIM27 genes and the lowest methylation for CBX8 and PCGF2 (p<0.05), and a modest decrease in the expression of EZH2. Conclusion: Differential methylation profiles of polycomb and trithorax genes may contribute to the dynamics of prostate carcinogenesis.