전립선암은 발병률이 높은 암종 중에 하나이다. 전립선 치료제인 flutamide는 androgen 수용체의 호르몬 치료제로서 내성효과에 대한 기본 메커니즘은 명확하지 않다. 본 연구에서는 flutamide에 의해 유도되는 호르몬 불응성 전립선 암세포 성장에서 포도 성분인 resveratrol의 억제효과를 조사하였다. 본 연구의 결과를 통해 호르몬 비의존적인 신호전달의 전환으로 유발되는 호르몬 불응성 전립선 암에서 resveratrol은 예방 및 항암효과에 기여할 것이라 판단된다.
The mechanisms underlying the refractory effects of flutamide, a first-line oral anti-androgen drug, have not been entirely elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of flutamide-induced hormone-refractory prostate cancer cell growth and its modulation by resveratrol, a phytoalexin present in grapes. Resveratrol significantly attenuated interleukin 6 (IL-6)-induced signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) transcriptional activity and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or IL-6-induced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) transcriptional activity. Furthermore, compared to treatment with DHT or IL-6 alone, combination treatment of cells significantly increased PSA transcriptional activity, and resveratrol markedly diminished DHT plus IL-6-induced STAT3 and PSA transcriptional activities. Thus, the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on IL-6-, DHT-, and flutamide-induced hormone-refractory prostate cancer cell growth are partly mediated by the suppression of STAT3 reporter gene activity, suggesting that resveratrol represents a promising therapy for prostate cancer.