Orphan Nuclear Receptor Nurr1 as a Potential Novel Markerfor Progression in Human Prostate Cancer

A number of studies have indicated that Nurr1, which belongs to a novel class of orphan nuclear receptors(the NR4A family), is important for carcinogenesis. Here we investigated expression of Nurr1 protein in benignand malignant human prostate tissues and association with clinicopathologic features using immunohistochemicaltechniques. Moreover, we also investigated the ability of Nurr1 to influence proliferation, migration, invasion andapoptosis of human prostate cancer cells using small interfering RNA silencing. Immunohistochemical analysisrevealed that the expression of Nurr1 protein was higher in prostate cancer tissues than in benign prostate tissue(P < 0.001), levels being positively correlated with tumor T classification (P = 0.003), N classification (P = 0.017),M classification (P = 0.011) and the Gleason score (P = 0.020) of prostate cancer patients. In vitro, silencing ofendogenous Nurr1 attenuated cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis of prostatecancer cells. These results suggest that Nurr1 may be used as an indicator for prostate cancer progression andbe useful for novel potential therapeutic strategies.