Examining the Effect of PARP-1 Inhibitors on Transcriptional Activity of Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer Cells

Since the early 1940s, androgen ablation has been the cornerstone of treatment for prostate cancer (PC). Importantly, androgen receptor (AR) signaling is vital not only for the initiation of PC, which is initially androgen-dependent, but also for castration-resistant disease. Recent studies demonstrated clear promise of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) inhibitors for targeting prostate cancer cells harboring mutations in DNA damage-repair genes. In addition, it has been established that PARP-1 inhibition suppresses growth of AR-positive prostate cancer cells in cell and animal models. Thus, prostate cancer represents a particularly promising disease site for targeting PARP-1, given that both DNA repair and AR-mediated transcription depend on PARP-1 function. Here, we describe the development and use of cell-based assay to evaluate the impact of PARP-1 inhibitors on the AR signaling in prostate cancer cells.