ArticleBMC cancer2021
The opposing action of stromal cell proenkephalin and stem cell transcription factors in prostate cancer differentiation.
Article in BMC cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of SOX transcription factors in prostate cancer: Focusing on SOX2.Genes & diseases · 2025Review
- Interpretable machine learning driven biomarker identification and validation for prostate cancer.Translational andrology and urology · 2025Article
- AGR2: The Covert Driver and New Dawn of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Cancer Treatment.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Prostate cancer research: tools, cell types, and molecular targets.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLoss of prostate cancer differentiation or de-differentiation leads to an untreatable disease. Patient survival would benefit if this can be prevented or reversed. Cancer de-differentiation transforms luminal-like (differentiated) adenocarcinoma into less luminal-like and more stem-like (undifferentiated) small cell carcinoma through a sequential activation of stem cell transcription factors (scTF) POU5F1, LIN28A, SOX2 and NANOG. Like stem cells, prostate small cell carcinoma express this quartet of scTF as well as a 10-fold lower level of β2-microglobulin (B2M) than that of differentiated cell types. In organ development, prostate stromal mesenchyme cells mediate epithelial differentiation in part by secreted factors.
methodsThe identified prostate stromal-specific factor proenkephalin (PENK) was cloned, and transfected into scTF
resultsPENK caused down-regulation of scTF and up-regulation of B2M to indicate differentiation. When transfected into reprogrammed LNCaP, PENK reversed the reprogramming by down-regulation of scTF with attendant changes in cell appearance and colony morphology. When transfected into LuCaP 70CR, PENK up-regulated the expression of adenocarcinoma antigen AGR2, a marker associated with cancer cell differentiation.
conclusionsProstate cancer cells appear to retain their responsiveness to stromal PENK signaling. PENK can induce differentiation to counter de-differentiation caused by scTF activation. The many mutations and aneuploidy characteristic of cancer cells appear not to hinder these two processes. Loss of prostate cancer differentiation is like reprogramming from luminal-like to stem-like.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.