CXCL16 is the most prevalent chemokine expressed in prostate cancer cell lines and xenografts and its expression correlates with levels of CXCR6 on cancer cells.

<p>(A) The expression of mRNAs for 37 chemokines was studied by RT-PCR in xenografts (CWR22, WISH PC14) and prostate tumor cell lines (PC3, DU145, LNCaP). Systematic and non-systematic names for chemokines are shown. Amplicons were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and visual inspection after staining with ethidium bromide. Sequences of primers are available on request. The levels of expression were evaluated as follows: no expression (−), low expression (−+), moderate expression (+), and high expression (++). Depending on the chemokine, the analysis was done from one to four times. (B) mRNA expression of chemokines in prostate cancer cell lines. The expression of mRNAs for 14 chemokines was studied by real-time RT-PCR on four prostate tumor cell lines (PC3, DU145, LNCaP, 22Rv1). The value of 2^-ΔCT was calculated and then normalized to the highest number for a given cell line, which was given the value of 100, where ΔCT = CT (chemokine)-CT (GAPDH). Numbers are averages of two determinations from one representative experiment of two performed. (C) Flow cytometric analysis of surface expression of CXCL16 on prostate cancer cell lines. PC3, 22Rv1 and DU145 cells were incubated without primary antibody (black shading), with goat anti-human CCL4 as an additional control (light gray line), or with goat anti-human CXCL16 (dark gray line) and then stained with rabbit anti-goat IgG-FITC. Data are from one representative experiment of three performed. (D) Staining for CXCL16 and CXCR6 in prostatectomy specimens using DAB (brown) for detection is shown for: normal prostate and prostate cancer. Panels are representative of over 80 prostate cancers cases examined. Each panel includes an H&E stain on the left. (E) Arrays containing prostate cancer tissue from 40 patients were stained for CXCL16 and CXCR6. (I) Samples were analyzed as described in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0006695#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>, grouped according to scores for CXCL16 on the X-axis (n = samples in each CXCL16 group), and mean scores for CXCR6 expression were calculated. Error bars show SEM. Cross-bars indicate comparisons that are significant. *, p<0.05 and **, p<0.01. (II) Immunofluorescence and confocal imaging of a section showing prostate cancer cells displays anti-CXCL16 (488 tyramide) as green, anti-CXCR6 (594 tyramide) as red, and nuclear staining with Hoechst 33258 as blue. Double staining in yellow shows co-localization. Panels are representative of more than 15 cases of prostate cancer. Original magnifications are noted on these and all subsequent photomicrographs.