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University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center [T. A. T., G. W.] and University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine [G. W.], University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53792

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, K5-601 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-6164. Phone: (608) 263-8600; Fax: (608) 263-8613; E-mail: gxw{at}medicine.wisc.edu

Antioxidants, such as vitamin E, are being investigated for efficacy in prostate cancer prevention. In this study, we show that the antioxidant moiety of vitamin E, 2,2,5,7,8-pentamethyl-6-chromanol (PMCol), has antiandrogen activity in prostate carcinoma cells. In the presence of PMCol, the androgen-stimulated biphasic growth curve of LNCaP human prostate carcinoma cells was shifted to the right. The PMCol-induced growth shift was similar to that produced by treatment with the pure antiandrogen bicalutamide (i.e., Casodex), indicative of androgen receptor (AR) antagonist activity. The concentration of PMCol used was below the concentration required to affect cell growth or viability in the absence of androgen. Using an AR binding competition assay, PMCol was found to be a potent antiandrogen in both LNCaP and LAPC4 cells, with an IC₅₀ of approximately 10 µM against 1 nM R1881 (methyltrienolone; a stable, synthetic androgen). Prostate-specific antigen release from LNCaP cells produced by androgen exposure with either 0.05 or 1.0 nM R1881 was inhibited 100% and 80%, respectively, by 30 µM PMCol. Also, PMCol inhibited androgen-induced promoter activation in both LNCaP and LAPC4 cells. However, PMCol did not affect AR protein levels, suggesting that the inhibitory effects of PMCol on androgenic pathways were not due to decreased expression of the AR. Therefore, growth modulation by the antioxidant moiety of vitamin E in androgen-sensitive prostate carcinoma cells is due, at least in part, to its potent antiandrogenic activity.