Unravelling the role of PSMA in prostate cancer while assessing the value of PSMA as a novel nano-therapy target

In recent years a spotlight has focused on the potential of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) as a disease specific target due to high expression in tumour tissue relative to surrounding normal tissue. As such several valuable diagnostic and therapeutic agents have been developed to exploit this biology, but despite this little is known about the contribution of PSMA to prostate cancer development.

The work presented within this thesis aims to develop the wider knowledge base relating to PSMA biology, while also developing a novel PSMA targeting gold nanoparticle to act as a sensitiser to radiotherapy.<br><br>Previous studies have showed that PSMA expression positively correlates with Gleason Score and progression to more aggressive disease. Using various cell models with differential androgen receptor activity (LNCaP and C4-2B) along with genetically manipulated PSMA, a series of phenotypic studies were conducted.