Journals / Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 48 Sayı: 6

Metabolic Sabotage of the Vitamin D Axis: Transcriptomic Rewiring of CYP24A1 and CYP27A1 Drives Endocrine Resistance in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Veli Kaan Aydın(PAMUKKALE ÜNİVERSİTESİ, TIP FAKÜLTESİ)0000-0001-8371-6239
Sıtkı Ün(PAMUKKALE UNIVERSITY)0000-0003-1477-7497
Pages
1122–1128
Publication Date
2026-09-22
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Overcoming this endocrine resistance likely requires combining Vitamin D therapies with potent catabolic inhibitors.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:Prostate cancer frequently progresses to an aggressive, castration-resistant (CRPC) stage with limited therapeutic options.
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Key Findings & Data:Despite the tumor-suppressive potential of active Vitamin D (calcitriol), CRPC clinical trials have yielded disappointing results, suggesting tumors possess specialized evasion mechanisms.
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Conclusion & Impact:Overcoming this endocrine resistance likely requires combining Vitamin D therapies with potent catabolic inhibitors.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Prostat Adenokarsinomu · Androjen Bağımsız · D Vitamini Ekseni

Abstract

Prostate cancer frequently progresses to an aggressive, castration-resistant (CRPC) stage with limited therapeutic options. Despite the tumor-suppressive potential of active Vitamin D (calcitriol), CRPC clinical trials have yielded disappointing results, suggesting tumors possess specialized evasion mechanisms. This study investigates whether this resistance is driven by genomic mutations or dynamic metabolic rewiring. We performed targeted transcriptomic profiling of the core Vitamin D signaling network, comparing normal prostate epithelial cells (RWPE-1) with metastatic CRPC cells (PC3). We also conducted an Over-Representation Analysis (ORA) targeting lipid and steroid metabolic networks. Clinical relevance was validated using the TCGA Prostate Adenocarcinoma cohort. This validation revealed that structural genomic alterations across the Vitamin D network are exceedingly rare (mutation frequencies ≤1.4% for VDR, CYP24A1, CYP27A1, and CDKN1A). Instead, in vitro analysis demonstrated that aggressive cells utilize dynamic transcriptomic rewiring to construct a "metabolic barrier." While maintaining a stable Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) profile, PC3 cells synchronously suppress the biosynthetic enzyme CYP27A1 and upregulate the catabolic enzyme CYP24A1. Furthermore, ORA highlighted significant enrichment of altered lipid and steroid metabolic networks. Ultimately, CRPC evades Vitamin D suppression through a non-mutational "metabolic sabotage" strategy, actively starving the intact receptor of its ligand via a highly restrictive catabolic microenvironment. Overcoming this endocrine resistance likely requires combining Vitamin D therapies with potent catabolic inhibitors.

Özet

Prostat kanseri sıklıkla, sınırlı terapötik seçeneklere sahip, agresif ve kastrasyona dirençli (CRPC) bir evreye ilerler. Aktif D vitamininin (kalsitriol) tümör baskılayıcı potansiyeline rağmen, CRPC klinik denemeleri tümörlerin özelleşmiş kaçış mekanizmalarına sahip olduğunu düşündüren zayıf sonuçlar vermiştir. Bu çalışma, bu direncin genomik mutasyonlardan mı yoksa dinamik metabolik yeniden düzenlemeden mi kaynaklandığını araştırmaktadır. Normal prostat epitel hücrelerini (RWPE-1) metastatik CRPC hücreleri (PC3) ile karşılaştırarak, çekirdek D Vitamini sinyal ağının hedeflenmiş transkriptomik profillemesini gerçekleştirdik. Ayrıca, lipit ve steroid metabolik ağlarını hedefleyen bir Aşırı Temsil Analizi (ORA) yürüttük. Klinik uygunluk, TCGA Prostat Adenokarsinomu kohortu kullanılarak doğrulandı. Bu doğrulama, D vitamini ağı genelindeki yapısal genomik değişikliklerin son derece nadir olduğunu (VDR, CYP24A1, CYP27A1 ve CDKN1A için mutasyon frekansları ≤%1,4) ortaya koymuştur. Bunun yerine, in vitro analizler agresif hücrelerin bir "metabolik bariyer" oluşturmak için dinamik transkriptomik yeniden düzenlemeyi kullandığını göstermiştir. Stabil bir D Vitamini Reseptörü (VDR) profilini koruyan PC3 hücreleri, biyosentetik enzim CYP27A1'i eşzamanlı olarak baskılamakta ve katabolik enzim CYP24A1'i artırmaktadır. Ayrıca ORA, değişen lipit ve steroid metabolik ağlarının anlamlı zenginleşmesini vurgulamıştır. Sonuç olarak CRPC, oldukça kısıtlayıcı katabolik bir mikroçevre aracılığıyla sağlam reseptörü ligandından aktif olarak mahrum bırakarak, mutasyonel olmayan bir "metabolik sabotaj" stratejisiyle D vitamini baskılamasından kaçmaktadır. Bu endokrin direncinin üstesinden gelmek, D Vitamini tedavilerinin güçlü katabolik inhibitörlerle birleştirilmesini gerektirmektedir.

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Cite This Article

Aydın, V. K., Ün, S. (2026). Metabolic Sabotage of the Vitamin D Axis: Transcriptomic Rewiring of CYP24A1 and CYP27A1 Drives Endocrine Resistance in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi, Cilt: 48 Sayı: 6, 1122–1128. https://doi.org/10.20515/otd.1974092

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