MOLECULAR ASPECTS OF THE BONE METASTASTASES DEVELOPMENT IN PROSTATE CANCER

Abstract

This review is devoted to the topical issue of modern medicine – the molecular mechanisms and factors for the development of bone metastases of malignant tumors, in particular prostate cancer. The recent publication on the formation and progression of prostate cancer bone metastases were analyzed in this study. The expression of some molecular markers in tumor and metastatic tissue and their role in tumor progression were also analyzed in this study. A common concept for the development of specific metastases is a seed and soil theory. According to this concept, circulating cancer cells recognize some organs as the optimal microenvironment for their development. However, the molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unknown. Molecular and genetic features of the androgen receptors expression in the tumor and their role in metastatic tissue were summarized and compared in this study. We also demonstrated the effect of these receptors on the development of osteoblastic metastases and castration-resistant prostate cancer. Authors analyzed and summarized data about the role of p53 protein, Bax and activated caspase 3 in apoptosis, mechanisms of neoangiogenesis and remodeling of tumor connective tissue with matrix metalloproteinase 1, the presence of collagen type I and osteonectin in neoplastic tissues and the role of inflammation in metastasis development. Functions of heat shock proteins with molecular masses of 70 and 90 kDa and their role in tumor and metastatic tissue were also analyzed. Thus, the study complements and summarizes the data on the development of bone metastases of prostate cancer. The study analyzed the molecular characteristics of prostate cancer during its metastatic spread.