Expression of BNIP3 correlates with hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, HIF-2α and the androgen receptor in prostate cancer and is regulated directly by hypoxia but not androgens in cell lines

Abstract

BACKGROUND. BNIP3 is a hypoxia-induced protein involved in cell death and survival but its role in human tumors is unclear. This study investigated the role of BNIP3 in prostate cancer. METHODS. The expression of BNIP3, the androgen receptor (AR), hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α, HIF-2α and the hypoxia regulated gene GLUT1 were assessed in tissue microarrays constructed from 149 radical prostatectomy specimens. Statistics compared expression of these factors between each other, conventional clinicopathological parameters and PSA recurrence. Since an association between BNIP3 and AR and the HIFs was observed, the influence of hypoxia, dihydrotestosterone and the AR blocker, Casodex, was als..