Sadra Medical Journal

The Effect of Bicalutamide on Suppressing Inhibitory Immune Checkpoints in Mature Dendritic Cells: A Novel Approach in Prostate Cancer Immunotherapy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Niloufar Sadat Nourbakhsh 1
Behzad Baradaran 2
Sirous Naeimi 3
Mehdi Moghanibashi 4

1 Department of Genetics, Kaz.C., Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran

2 Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

3 Department of Biology, Zand Institute of Higher Education, Shiraz, Iran

4 Department of Biology, Kaz.C., Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/smsj.2026.106499.1620
Abstract
Introduction: Bicalutamide, an antiandrogen agent used in prostate cancer treatment, has been shown to influence immune cells and alter the immune response within the tumor microenvironment. This study investigated the impact of bicalutamide on the expression patterns of immune checkpoints in dendritic cells. 
Methods: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were utilized to differentiate monocytes isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells into immature dendritic cells (iDCs). Subsequently, prostate cancer cell lysates were employed to treat iDCs in order to facilitate their maturation into mature dendritic cells (mDCs). Bicalutamide treatment was then applied to the mDCs, followed by total RNA extraction. After cDNA synthesis, the expression of inhibitory immune checkpoints was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR).
Results: The findings indicated that administration of Bicalutamide to mDCs significantly decreased the mRNA expression levels of several inhibitory immune checkpoints, including B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA), V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA), lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3), cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), and programmed-death ligand 1 (PD-L1).
Conclusion: The findings suggested that bicalutamide might exert an immunomodulatory effect on dendritic cells and possess the potential for consideration in DC-mediated immunotherapies for prostate cancer. 
 

Keywords

Prostatic Neoplasms
Dendritic Cells
bicalutamide
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
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Sadra Medical Journal
Volume 14, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 3-11

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