Biochemistry/Molecular Biology. (Abstracts-2003 Annual Meetings)‪.‬

Vitamin D in The Prevention and Treatment of Prostate Cancer. Erik J. Tokar, Daniel E. Williams, and Mukta M. Webber, Departments of Zoology and Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Ml 48824-13 12 Prostate cancer, the second leading cause of death from cancer in American men, has a 20- to 30-year latency period before cancer is manifested. It may, therefore, be possible to prevent cancer development. An inverse relationship between prostate cancer mortality and UV light exposure (essential for vitamin D synthesis) has been reported. Vitamin D plays an important role in cell differentiation. We examined the ability of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) to inhibit or reverse cellular changes associated with carcinogenesis and cancer invasion. Nontumorigenic human prostate cell line, RWPE-1 (immortalized with HPV-18), and the malignant RWPE2-W99 cell line, derived from RWPE-1 by Ki-ras transformation, were used. The effects of cholecalciferol on both cell lines were first determined. Further, the effects on cytoskeleral proteins, matrix metalloproteinases, motility, and invasion were determined by immunostaining, SDS-PAGE zymography, and in vitro invasion assays. Preliminary results show that cholecalciferol u pregulares vitamin D and certain retinoid receptors, inhibits growth and invasion, induces differentiation, and decreases the expression of proteins associated with malignant transformation. This evidence suggests that vitamin D may be an important dietary component for cancer prevention. Its effects and mechanisms of action are being investigated.