RNA-Seq Reveals Transcriptomic Program Associated with Stemness in Taxane Resistant Prostate Cancer
There is no cure for advanced prostate cancer (PCa), and taxane chemotherapy is the only treatment option once other therapies have failed. However, this is problematic since all patients eventually develop chemoresistance. Emerging treatments for advanced PCa have shown promise at the benchside, but clinical trials have not resulted in newly approved drugs due in part to redundant survival pathways utilized by prostate tumor cells to maintain therapy-resistance. Using RNAsequencing—an innovative approach for quantifying gene expression changes—this dissertation sought to elucidate chemoresistance-associated molecular pathways as a catalyst to develop new therapeutic targets. Results revealed a differential upregulation of stemness-associated genes in PCa cells selected for chemoresistance. In addition, chemoresistant cells formed robust stem cell prostaspheres compared to chemosensitive cells, and expressed other markers of cancer stem cells. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that PCa chemoresistance is driven by cancer stem cells.
Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Molecular Genetics, Neoplasms, Prostatic Neoplasms; Prostate Cancer -- Treatment; Stem Cells, Chemoresistance, RNA Sequencing, Gene Expression
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