Prostate cancer is an age-related disease that is linked to the inability of prostate cells to accumulate
zinc following transformation. It is shown in the present study that the basal percentage of normal prostate cells expressing senescence-associated
beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal) is higher than that of the
cancer cells. In the presence of high
zinc in the cell culture medium, the percentage of normal prostate cells expressing the SA-beta-gal increased but not that of the
cancer cells. Increased intracellular
zinc occurs in the
prostate cancer cells treated with supraphysiologic concentration of
zinc but it does not induce senescence or decrease the
telomerase activities in these cells. Senescence, however, occurred when the
prostate cancer cells
DNA is damaged by irradiation. These findings suggest that
prostate cancer cells are insensitive to the senescence-inducing effects of
zinc but the
cancer cells retain the capacity to undergo senescence through other pathways.