Androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer leads to a significant increase of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is generally viewed as beneficial, particularly for cardiovascular disease, but the effect of HDL on prostate cancer is unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of HDL on prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration, intracellular cholesterol levels, and the role of cholesterol transporters, namely ABCA1, ABCG1, and SR-BI in these processes. HDL induced cell proliferation and migration of the androgen-independent PC-3 and DU145 cells by a mechanism involving extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 and Akt, but had no effect on the androgen-dependent LNCaP cell, which did not express ABCA1 unlike the other cell lines. Treatment with HDL did not significantly alter the cholesterol content of the cell lines. Knockdown of ABCA1 but not ABCG1 or SR-BI by small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited HDL-induced cell proliferation, migration, and ERK1/2 and Akt signal transduction in PC-3 cells. Moreover, after treatment of LNCaP cells with charcoal-stripped fetal bovine serum, ABCA1 was induced ∼10-fold, enabling HDL to induce ERK1/2 activation, whereas small interfering RNA knockdown of ABCA1 inhibited HDL-induced ERK1/2 activation. Simvastatin, which inhibited ABCA1 expression in PC-3 and DU145 cells, attenuated HDL-induced PC-3 and DU145 cell proliferation, migration, and ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation. In human prostate biopsy samples, ABCA1 mRNA expression was ∼2-fold higher in the androgen deprivation therapy group than in subjects with benign prostatic hyperplasia or pretreatment prostate cancer groups. In summary, these results suggest that HDL by an ABCA1-dependent mechanism can mediate signal transduction, leading to increased proliferation and migration of prostate cancer cells.
© 2010 AACR.