Prolonged exposure to (R)-bicalutamide generates a LNCaP subclone with alteration of mitochondrial genome

Advanced prostate cancers, initially sensitive to androgen deprivation therapy, frequently progress to the castration-resistant prostate cancer phenotype (CRPC) through mechanisms not yet fully understood. In this study we investigated mitochondrial involvement in the establishment of refractoriness to hormone therapy. Two human prostate cancer cell lines were used, the parental LNCaP and the resistant LNCaP-Rbic, the latter generated after continuous exposure to 20 μM of (R)-bicalutamide, the active enantiomer of Casodex®. We observed a significant decrease in mtDNA content and a lower expression of 8 mitochondria-encoded gene transcripts involved in respiratory chain complexes in both cell lines. We also found that (R)-bicalutamide differentially modulated dynamin-related protein (Drp-1) expression in LNCaP and LNCaP-Rbic cells. These data seem to indicate that the androgen-independent phenotype in our experimental model was due, at least in part, to alterations in mitochondrial dynamics and to a breakdown in the Drp-1-mediated mitochondrial network.