Stromal TGF-β signaling induces AR activation in prostate cancer

AR signaling is essential for the growth and survival of prostate cancer (PCa), including most of the lethal castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). We previously reported that TGF-β signaling in prostate stroma promotes prostate tumor angiogenesis and growth. By using a PCa/stroma co-culture model, here we show that stromal TGF-β signaling induces comprehensive morphology changes of PCa LNCaP cells. Furthermore, it induces AR activation in LNCaP cells in the absence of significant levels of androgen, as evidenced by induction of several AR target genes including PSA, TMPRSS2, and KLK4. SD-208, a TGF-β receptor 1 specific inhibitor, blocks this TGF-β induced biology. Importantly, stromal TGF-β signaling together with DHT induce robust activation of AR. MDV3100 effectively blocks DHT-induced, but not stromal TGF-β signaling induced AR activation in LNCaP cells, indicating that stromal TGF-β signaling induces both ligand-dependent and ligand-independent AR activation in PCa. TGF-β induces the expression of several growth factors and cytokines in prostate stromal cells, including IL-6, and BMP-6. Interestingly, BMP-6 and IL-6 together induces robust AR activation in these co-cultures, and neutralizing antibodies against BMP-6 and IL-6 attenuate this action. Altogether, our study strongly suggests tumor stromal microenvironment induced AR activation as a direct mechanism of CRPC.     

Mechanistic rationale for MCL1 inhibition during androgen deprivation therapy

Androgen deprivation therapy induces apoptosis or cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Here we set out to analyze whether MCL1, a known mediator of chemotherapy resistance regulates the cellular response to androgen withdrawal. Analysis of MCL1 protein and mRNA expression in PCa tissue and primary cell culture specimens of luminal and basal origin, respectively, reveals higher expression in cancerous tissue compared to benign origin. Using PCa cellular models in vitro and in vivo we show that MCL1 expression is upregulated in androgen-deprived PCa cells. Regulation of MCL1 through the AR signaling axis is indirectly mediated via a cell cycle-dependent mechanism. Using constructs downregulating or overexpressing MCL1 we demonstrate that expression of MCL1 prevents induction of apoptosis when PCa cells are grown under steroid-deprived conditions. The BH3-mimetic Obatoclax induces apoptosis and decreases MCL1 expression in androgen-sensitive PCa cells, while castration-resistant PCa cells are less sensitive and react with an upregulation of MCL1 expression. Synergistic effects of Obatoclax with androgen receptor inactivation can be observed. Moreover, clonogenicity of primary basal PCa cells is efficiently inhibited by Obatoclax. Altogether, our results suggest that MCL1 is a key molecule deciding over the fate of PCa cells upon inactivation of androgen receptor signaling.     

HMGB1 promotes tumor progression and invasion through HMGB1/TNFR1/NF-κB axis in castration-resistant prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common male cancer. Most patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy progress to castration-resistant PCa. To overcome the limitations of this treatment, there is an urgent need to identify more effective treatment targets. High mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is known to be associated with progression, metastasis, and poor prognosis of several solid tumors; however, its role in PCa remains unclear. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the clinical significance and biological roles and mechanism of HMGB1 in PCa. We showed that increased expression of HMGB1 correlated with increased risk of aggressive PCa, and high expression of HMGB1 was associated with poor biochemical recurrence-free survival in a Korean cohort. Additionally, the inhibition of HMGB1 expression significantly reduced cell proliferation, invasive capacity, and NF-κB signaling in vitro. Our results indicated that HMGB1 is a critical factor in the development and progression of PCa. Moreover, we found that HMGB1 directly interacts with TNFR1, and TNFR1 overexpression in HMGB1 knockdown cells reversed the effects of HMGB1 knockdown. Importantly, our results suggest that HMGB1 binding to TNFR1 promotes tumor progression by activating the NF-κB signaling pathway in PCa; therefore, the HMGB1/TNFR1/NF-κB signaling pathway could serve as a novel therapeutic target for improving PCa therapy.     

The androgen receptor controls expression of the cancer-associated sTn antigen and cell adhesion through induction of ST6GalNAc1 in prostate cancer

Patterns of glycosylation are important in cancer, but the molecular mechanisms that drive changes are often poorly understood. The androgen receptor drives prostate cancer (PCa) development and progression to lethal metastatic castration-resistant disease. Here we used RNA-Seq coupled with bioinformatic analyses of androgen-receptor (AR) binding sites and clinical PCa expression array data to identify ST6GalNAc1 as a direct and rapidly activated target gene of the AR in PCa cells. ST6GalNAc1 encodes a sialytransferase that catalyses formation of the cancer-associated sialyl-Tn antigen (sTn), which we find is also induced by androgen exposure. Androgens induce expression of a novel splice variant of the ST6GalNAc1 protein in PCa cells. This splice variant encodes a shorter protein isoform that is still fully functional as a sialyltransferase and able to induce expression of the sTn-antigen. Surprisingly, given its high expression in tumours, stable expression of ST6GalNAc1 in PCa cells reduced formation of stable tumours in mice, reduced cell adhesion and induced a switch towards a more mesenchymal-like cell phenotype in vitro. ST6GalNAc1 has a dynamic expression pattern in clinical datasets, being significantly up-regulated in primary prostate carcinoma but relatively down-regulated in established metastatic tissue. ST6GalNAc1 is frequently upregulated concurrently with another important glycosylation enzyme GCNT1 previously associated with prostate cancer progression and implicated in Sialyl Lewis X antigen synthesis. Together our data establishes an androgen-dependent mechanism for sTn antigen expression in PCa, and are consistent with a general role for the androgen receptor in driving important coordinate changes to the glycoproteome during PCa progression.     

The microRNA-23b/27b/24-1 cluster is a disease progression marker and tumor suppressor in prostate cancer

Our recent study of microRNA (miRNA) expression signatures in prostate cancer (PCa) has revealed that all members of the miR-23b/27b/24-1 cluster are significantly downregulated in PCa tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of these clustered miRNAs as a disease progression marker and to determine the functional significance of these clustered miRNAs in PCa. Expression of the miR-23b/27b/24-1 cluster was significantly reduced in PCa tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that low expression of miR-27b predicted a short duration of progression to castration-resistant PCa. Gain-of-function studies using mature miR-23b, miR-27b, and miR-24-1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in PCa cells (PC3 and DU145). To identify the molecular targets of these miRNAs, we carried out gene expression and in silico database analyses. GOLM1 was directly regulated by miR-27b in PCa cells. Elucidation of the molecular targets and pathways regulated by the tumor-suppressive microRNAs should shed light on the oncogenic and metastatic processes in PCa.     

ACSL4 promotes prostate cancer growth,invasion and hormonal resistance

Increases in fatty acid metabolism have been demonstrated to promote the growth and survival of a variety of cancers, including prostate cancer (PCa). Here, we examine the expression and function of the fatty acid activating enzyme, long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase 4 (ACSL4), in PCa. Ectopic expression of ACSL4 in ACSL4-negative PCa cells increases proliferation, migration and invasion, while ablation of ACSL4 in PCa cells expressing endogenous ACSL4 reduces cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The cell proliferative effects were observed both in vitro, as well as in vivo. Immunohistochemical analysis of human PCa tissue samples indicated ACSL4 expression is increased in malignant cells compared with adjacent benign epithelial cells, and particularly increased in castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) when compared with hormone naive PCa. In cell lines co-expressing both ACSL4 and AR, proliferation was independent of exogenous androgens, suggesting that ACSL4 expression may lead to CRPC. In support for this hypothesis, ectopic ACSL4 expression induced resistance to treatment with Casodex, via decrease in apoptosis. Our studies further indicate that ACSL4 upregulates distinct pathway proteins including p-AKT, LSD1 and β-catenin. These results suggest ACSL4 could serve as a biomarker and potential therapeutic target for CRPC.     

Loss of tumor suppressor mir-203 mediates overexpression of LIM and SH3 Protein 1 (LASP1) in high-risk prostate cancer thereby increasing cell proliferation and migration

Several studies have linked overexpression of the LIM and SH3 domain protein 1 (LASP1) to progression of breast, colon, liver, and bladder cancer. However, its expression pattern and role in human prostate cancer (PCa) remained largely undefined.Analysis of published microarray data revealed a significant overexpression of LASP1 in PCa metastases compared to parental primary tumors and normal prostate epithelial cells. Subsequent gene-set enrichment analysis comparing LASP1-high and -low PCa identified an association of LASP1 with genes involved in locomotory behavior and chemokine signaling. These bioinformatic predictions were confirmed in vitro as the inducible short hairpin RNA-mediated LASP1 knockdown impaired migration and proliferation in LNCaP prostate cancer cells.By immunohistochemical staining and semi-quantitative image analysis of whole tissue sections we found an enhanced expression of LASP1 in primary PCa and lymph node metastases over benign prostatic hyperplasia. Strong cytosolic and nuclear LASP1 immunoreactivity correlated with PSA progression. Conversely, qRT-PCR analyses for mir-203, which is a known translational suppressor of LASP1 in matched RNA samples revealed an inverse correlation of LASP1 protein and mir-203 expression. Collectively, our results suggest that loss of mir-203 expression and thus uncontrolled LASP1 overexpression might drive progression of PCa.     

Prostate cancer bone metastases acquire resistance to androgen deprivation via WNT5A-mediated BMP-6 induction

Background:

Androgen ablation is the first-line therapy for patients with metastatic prostate cancer (CaP). However, castration resistance will eventually emerge. In the present study, we have investigated the role of bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) in the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in the context of bone metastases.

Methods:

We initially investigated the clinical course of 158 men with advanced CaP who were treated with primary androgen deprivation therapy. To elucidate the underlying mechanism of CRPC in the context of bone metastases, we examined the impact of bone stromal cells on CaP in the absence of androgens using a co-culture model.

Results:

In the 158 patients, we found that the median time to prostate-specific antigen progression was significantly shorter when bone metastases were present (14 months (95% CI, 10.2–17.8 months) vs 57 months (95% CI, 19.4–94.6 months)). These results suggest that bone–tumour interactions may accelerate castration resistance. Consistent with this hypothesis, in vitro co-cultures demonstrated that CaP cells proliferated under an androgen-depleted condition when incubated with bone stromal cells. Mechanistically, gene expression analysis using quantitative polymerase chain reaction arrays showed a dramatic induction of BMP-6 by CaP cell lines in the presence of bone stromal cells. Further studies revealed that WNT5A derived from bone stromal cells induced the expression of BMP-6 by CaP cells; BMP-6 in turn stimulated cellular proliferation of CaP cells in an androgen-deprived media via a physical interaction between Smad5 and β-catenin. Intracellularly, WNT5A increased BMP-6 expression via protein kinase C/NF-κB pathway in CaP cell lines.

Conclusions:

These observations suggest that bone–CaP interaction leads to castration resistance via WNT5A/BMP-6 loop.     

Simultaneous targeting of androgen receptor (AR) and MAPK-interacting kinases (MNKs) by novel retinamides inhibits growth of human prostate cancer cell lines

Androgen receptor (AR) and MNK activated eIF4E signaling promotes the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we report that our Novel Retinamides (NRs) target both AR signaling and eIF4E translation in androgen sensitive and castration resistant PCa cells via enhancing AR and MNK degradation through ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Dual blockade of AR and MNK initiated eIF4E activation by NRs in turn induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and inhibited cell proliferation. NRs also inhibited cell migration and invasion in metastatic cells. Importantly, the inhibitory effects of NRs on AR signaling, eIF4E translation initiation and subsequent oncogenic program were more potent than that observed with clinically relevant retinoids, established MNK inhibitors, and the FDA approved PCa drugs. Our findings provide the first preclinical evidence that simultaneous inhibition of AR and eIF4E activation is a novel and efficacious therapeutic approach for PCa, and that NRs hold significant promise for treatment of advanced prostate cancer.     

Platelet-Synthesized Testosterone in Men with Prostate Cancer Induces Androgen Receptor Signaling

Platelets have been long postulated to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer, although relatively little is known regarding the precise mechanisms involved. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer eventually fails with relapse occurring in the form of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). CRPC tumors typically overexpress androgen receptor (AR), demonstrating continued dependence upon AR signaling. Platelets have been previously demonstrated to contain androgens, and we sought to explore the contribution of platelet-derived androgens in CRPC. In this study, we examined the role of platelet-derived androgens in vitro using platelets from men with CRPC, men with high-risk prostate cancer, and healthy male donors. A series of in vitro assays was performed to elucidate the impact of platelet-derived androgens on androgen-sensitive prostate tumor cells. By examining platelet-derived androgen effects on AR signaling in prostate tumor cells, we found that platelets, from men with CRPC and on ADT, strongly induce AR target genes and tumor cell proliferation. Moreover, we show a fully intact testosterone (T) biosynthetic pathway within platelets from its precursor cholesterol and demonstrate that platelets of CRPC patients with ADT resistance are able to generate T. Overall, our findings reveal an unknown capacity of platelets to synthesize T at functionally relevant levels in patients with lethal prostate cancer. Importantly, it suggests a novel paracrine mechanism of T production that may act to sustain CRPC state and potentiate therapeutic resistance.Abbreviations: ADT, androgen deprivation therapy; AR, androgen receptor; CRPC, castration-resistant prostate cancer; DHT, dihydrotestosterone; HR, high-risk disease; MS, mass spectrometry; T, testosterone     

Antiproliferative activity of novel imidazopyridine derivatives on castration-resistant human prostate cancer cells

Metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) relapses after a short period of androgen deprivation therapy and becomes the castration-resistant prostate cancer (CR PCa); to which the treatment is limited. Hence, it is imperative to identify novel therapeutic agents towards this patient population. In the present study, antiproliferative activities of novel imidazopyridines were compared. Among three derivatives, PHE, AMD and AMN, examined, AMD showed the highest inhibitory activity on LNCaP C-81 cell proliferation, following dose- and time-dependent manner. Additionally, AMD exhibited significant antiproliferative effect against a panel of PCa cells, but not normal prostate epithelial cells. Further, when compared to AMD, its derivative DME showed higher inhibitory activities on PCa cell proliferation, clonogenic potential and in vitro tumorigenicity. The inhibitory activity was apparently in part due to the induction of apoptosis. Mechanistic studies indicate that AMD and DME treatments inhibited both AR and PI3K/Akt signaling. The results suggest that better understanding of inhibitory mechanisms of AMD and DME could help design novel therapeutic agents for improving the treatment of CR PCa.     

Interplay Between Genomic Alterations and Androgen Receptor Signaling During Prostate Cancer Development and Progression

Advanced prostate cancer (PCa) treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) eventually relapses to an ADT-resistant disease referred to as castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). Recent integrative analyses of PCa genomes have led to the elucidation of potential subtypes that are revelatory to the development of PCa as well as the mechanisms of resistance to ADT and CRPC progression. These studies have confirmed that alterations in the androgen receptor (AR) signaling axis are central to CRPC progression, and have uncovered complex mechanisms by which AR and other components of the AR signaling axis affect, and are affected by, genomic changes and epigenetic transformations. Among the most frequent alterations in CRPC are direct alterations in the AR gene. These AR gene alterations include AR amplification, point mutations, and more recently AR gene rearrangements leading to expression of truncated, constitutively active AR splice variants that are impervious to ADT. In this review, we will highlight genomic alterations that are important for development and progression of PCa, with a focus on how these alterations affect, and are affected by, activity of the AR signaling axis.     

LncRNA MALAT1 enhances oncogenic activities of EZH2 in castration-resistant prostate cancer

The Polycomb protein enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is frequently overexpressed in advanced human prostate cancer (PCa), especially in lethal castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, the signaling pathways that regulate EZH2 functions in PCa remain incompletely defined. Using EZH2 antibody-based RNA immunoprecipitation-coupled high throughput sequencing (RIP-seq), we demonstrated that EZH2 binds to MALAT1, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that is overexpressed during PCa progression. GST pull-down and RIP assays demonstrated that the 3′ end of MALAT1 interacts with the N-terminal of EZH2. Knockdown of MALAT1 impaired EZH2 recruitment to its target loci and upregulated expression of EZH2 repressed genes. Further studies indicated that MALAT1 plays a vital role in EZH2-enhanced migration and invasion in CRPC cell lines. Meta-analysis and RT-qPCR of patient specimens demonstrated a positive correlation between MALAT1 and EZH2 expression in human CRPC tissues. Finally, we showed that MALAT1 enhances expression of PRC2-independent target genes of EZH2 in CRPC cells in culture and patient-derived xenografts. Together, these data indicate that MALAT1 may be a crucial RNA cofactor of EZH2 and that the EZH2-MALAT1 association may provide a new avenue for development new strategies for treatment of CRPC.     

Secretogranin II is overexpressed in advanced prostate cancer and promotes the neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer cells

AimIn prostate cancer (PCa), neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) is commonly observed in relapsing, hormone therapy-resistant tumours after androgen deprivation. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the NED of PCa cells remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the expression of the neuroendocrine secretory protein secretogranin II (SgII) in PCa, and its potential involvement in the progression of this cancer as a granulogenic factor promoting NED.MethodsWe have examined SgII immunoreactivity in 25 benign prostate hyperplasia and 32 PCa biopsies. In vitro experiments were performed to investigate the involvement of SgII in the neuroendocrine differentiation and the proliferation of PCa cell lines.ResultsWe showed that immunoreactive SgII intensity correlates with tumour grade in PCa patients. Using the androgen-dependent lymph node cancer prostate cells (LNCaP) cells, we found that NED triggered by androgen deprivation is associated with the induction of SgII expression. In addition, forced expression of SgII in LNCaP cells implemented a regulated secretory pathway by triggering the formation of secretory granule-like structures competent for hormone storage and regulated release. Finally, we found that SgII promotes prostate cancer (CaP) cell proliferation.ConclusionThe present data show that SgII is highly expressed in advanced PCa and may contribute to the neuroendocrine differentiation by promoting the formation of secretory granules and the proliferation of PCa cells.     

Downregulation of lysine-specific demethylase 1 enhances the sensitivity of hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cells to androgen deprivation therapy

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) plays an important role in androgen receptor (AR) signaling, and LSD1 levels are associated with prostate cancer (PCa) progression. The present study investigated the association between the downregulation of LSD1 and the proliferation and invasiveness of PCa cells, as well as the effect of LSD1 on the androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)-induced apoptosis of PCa cells. The effect of the inhibition of LSD1 combined with ADT on PCa cell apoptosis was characterized. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying LSD1-mediated apoptosis induced by ADT in PCa cells were investigated. Downregulation of LSD1 impaired the proliferation and invasiveness of PCa cells. Moreover, downregulation of LSD1 enhanced the apoptosis of PCa cells induced by bicalutamide in vitro. Downregulation of LSD1 decreased PSA expression, increased caspase 3 and Bax expression, decreased Bcl-2 expression and consequently enhanced castration-induced PCa cell apoptosis in vivo. These findings indicated that downregulation of LSD1 could effectively enhance the efficacy of ADT for hormone- sensitive PCa, demonstrating that this could be a promising adjunctive therapy with ADT for this disease.     

Lycopene Enhances Docetaxel's Effect in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Associated with Insulin-like Growth Factor I Receptor Levels

Docetaxel is currently the most effective drug for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), but it only extends life by an average of 2 months. Lycopene, an antioxidant phytochemical, has antitumor activity against prostate cancer (PCa) in several models and is generally safe. We present data on the interaction between docetaxel and lycopene in CRPC models. The growth-inhibitory effect of lycopene on PCa cell lines was positively associated with insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) levels. In addition, lycopene treatment enhanced the growth-inhibitory effect of docetaxel more effectively on DU145 cells with IGF-IR high expression than on those PCa cell lines with IGF-IR low expression. In a DU145 xenograft tumor model, docetaxel plus lycopene caused tumor regression, with a 38% increase in antitumor efficacy (P = .047) when compared with docetaxel alone. Lycopene inhibited IGF-IR activation through inhibiting IGF-I stimulation and by increasing the expression and secretion of IGF-BP3. Downstream effects include inhibition of AKT kinase activity and survivin expression, followed by apoptosis. Together, the enhancement of docetaxel''s antitumor efficacy by lycopene supplementation justifies further clinical investigation of lycopene and docetaxel combination for CRPC patients. CRPC patients with IGF-IR-overexpressing tumors may be most likely to benefit from this combination.     

Role of Proprotein Convertases in Prostate Cancer Progression

Better understanding of the distinct and redundant functions of the proprotein convertase (PC) enzyme family within pathophysiological states has a great importance for potential therapeutic strategies. In this study, we investigated the functional redundancy of PCs in prostate cancer in the commonly used androgen-sensitive LNCaP and the androgen-independent DU145 human cell lines. Using a lentiviral-based shRNA delivery system, we examined in vitro and in vivo cell proliferation characteristics of knockdown cell lines for the endogenous PCs furin, PACE4, and PC7 in both cell lines. Of the three PCs, only PACE4 was essential to maintain a high-proliferative status, as determined in vitro using XTT proliferation assays and in vivo using tumor xenografts in nude mice. Furin knockdowns in both cell lines had no effects on cell proliferation or tumor xenograft growth. Paradoxically, PC7 knockdowns reduced in vitro cellular proliferation but had no effect in vivo. Because PCs act within secretion pathways, we showed that conditioned media derived from PACE4 knockdown cells had very poor cell growth-stimulating effects in vitro. Immunohistochemistry of PACE4 knockdown tumors revealed reduced Ki67 and higher p27^KIP levels (proliferation and cell cycle arrest markers, respectively). Interestingly, we determined that the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway was activated in PC7 knockdown tumors only, providing some explanations of the paradoxical effects of PC7 silencing in prostate cancer cell lines. We conclude that PACE4 has a distinct role in maintaining proliferation and tumor progression in prostate cancer and this positions PACE4 as a relevant therapeutic target for this disease.     

Cross Modulation between the Androgen Receptor Axis and Protocadherin-PC in Mediating Neuroendocrine Transdifferentiation and Therapeutic Resistance of Prostate Cancer

Castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPCs) that relapse after androgen deprivation therapies (ADTs) are responsible for the majority of mortalities from prostate cancer (PCa). While mechanisms enabling recurrent activity of androgen receptor (AR) are certainly involved in the development of CRPC, there may be factors that contribute to the process including acquired neuroendocrine (NE) cell-like behaviors working through alternate (non-AR) cell signaling systems or AR-dependent mechanisms. In this study, we explore the potential relationship between the AR axis and a novel putative marker of NE differentiation, the human male protocadherin-PC (PCDH-PC), in vitro and in human situations. We found evidence for an NE transdifferentiation process and PCDH-PC expression as an early-onset adaptive mechanism following ADT and elucidate AR as a key regulator of PCDH-PC expression. PCDH-PC overexpression, in turn, attenuates the ligand-dependent activity of the AR, enabling certain prostate tumor clones to assume a more NE phenotype and promoting their survival under diverse stress conditions. Acquisition of an NE phenotype by PCa cells positively correlated with resistance to cytotoxic agents including docetaxel, a taxane chemotherapy approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic CRPC. Furthermore, knockdown of PCDH-PC in cells that have undergone an NE transdifferentiation partially sensitized cells to docetaxel. Together, these results reveal a reciprocal regulation between the AR axis and PCDH-PC signals, observed both in vitro and in vivo, with potential implications in coordinating NE transdifferentiation processes and progression of PCa toward hormonal and chemoresistance.