scholarly journals The role of STEAP2 in aggressive prostate cancer traits and androgen response

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Leia A. Jones

The prognosis of localised prostate cancer is generally promising, as many tumours remain dormant and therefore do not require immediate intervention. In contrast, once metastasised, the prognosis for aggressive prostate cancer is often poor, highlighting the need for novel, effective treatment approaches. The expression of the six transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate2 (STEAP2) cell surface protein is increased in aggressive prostate cancer compared to normal prostate tissue. In vitro studies have shown STEAP2 to aid in prostate cancer progression, and as such this molecule shows promise as a potential novel therapeutic target in the treatment of advanced disease. The aim of this thesis was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the mechanistic role of STEAP2 in promoting aggressive prostate cancer traits and evaluate if its knock-out has the capacity to reduce the invasive potential of prostate cancer cells in vitro. As prostate cancer is a largely androgen dependent disease, this thesis also aimed to evaluate the effects of STEAP2 inhibition on the expression of the androgen receptor and androgen-regulated genes. This study developed and optimised a protocol for generating a set of 3D prostate cancer spheroids to provide more representative models of the in vivo prostate cancer environment. In this thesis, one commercial anti-STEAP2 polyclonal antibody and a panel of anti-STEAP2 monoclonal antibodies were selected for proof-of-concept studies where their effects on reducing prostate cancer cell viability were assessed. Receptor internalisation of STEAP2 was evaluated upon anti-STEAP2 monoclonal antibody binding to determine its suitability for use with antibody-drug conjugate technology. STEAP2 expression was knocked out using CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering technology in two prostate cancer cell lines to evaluate its impact on cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, gene expression profiling was conducted to explore interactions between STEAP2, the androgen receptor and a panel of androgen-regulated genes (PSA, FKBP5, GPRC6A and TMPRSS2) following: 1) anti-STEAP2 antibody treatment, 2) STEAP2-knockout and 3) the growth of prostate cancer cells in androgen-depleted conditions. The data presented in this thesis demonstrate that inhibition of STEAP2 by both the polyclonal anti-STEAP2 antibody and lead anti-STEAP2 monoclonal antibody significantly reduced prostate cancer cell viability. STEAP2 receptor internalisation was triggered following treatment of prostate cancer cells with the anti-STEAP2 monoclonal antibody, demonstrating its potential utility with antibody-drug conjugate technology in the future. STEAP2 knockout prostate cancer cells exhibited decreased cell proliferation, migration and invasion in comparison to wild-type cells. These promising findings highlight the therapeutic value of STEAP2-knockout in inhibiting invasive tumour cell traits. Gene expression data from both STEAP2-knockout cells and androgen-depleted cells suggest that STEAP2 may be involved in crosstalk between the androgen receptor and androgen-regulated genes. STEAP2 could therefore provide a novel target in conjunction with current conventional androgen deprivation therapy. In conclusion, the in vitro findings presented herein suggest STEAP2 as a viable target for the development of more tailored and personalised therapeutic agents to improve the clinical management of men with aggressive prostate cancer.

BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen A. Marcellus ◽  
Tara E. Crawford Parks ◽  
Shekoufeh Almasi ◽  
Bernard J. Jasmin

Abstract Background Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant cancers with the second highest global rate of mortality in men. During the early stages of disease progression, tumour growth is local and androgen-dependent. Despite treatment, a large percentage of patients develop androgen-independent prostate cancer, which often results in metastases, a leading cause of mortality in these patients. Our previous work on the RNA-binding protein Staufen1 demonstrated its novel role in cancer biology, and in particular rhabdomyosarcoma tumorigenesis. To build upon this work, we have focused on the role of Staufen1 in other forms of cancer and describe here the novel and differential roles of Staufen1 in prostate cancer. Methods Using a cell-based approach, three independent prostate cancer cell lines with different characteristics were used to evaluate the expression of Staufen1 in human prostate cancer relative to control prostate cells. The functional impact of Staufen1 on several key oncogenic features of prostate cancer cells including proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were systematically investigated. Results We show that Staufen1 levels are increased in all human prostate cancer cells examined in comparison to normal prostate epithelial cells. Furthermore, Staufen1 differentially regulates growth, migration, and invasion in the various prostate cancer cells assessed. In LNCaP prostate cancer cells, Staufen1 regulates cell proliferation through mTOR activation. Conversely, Staufen1 regulates migration and invasion of the highly invasive, bone metastatic-derived, PC3 prostate cells via the activation of focal adhesion kinase. Conclusions Collectively, these results show that Staufen1 has a direct impact in prostate cancer development and further demonstrate that its functions vary amongst the prostate cancer cell types. Accordingly, Staufen1 represents a novel target for the development of much-needed therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Pan ◽  
Yunlin Ye ◽  
Haiping Liu ◽  
Jianli Zhen ◽  
Hongmei Zhou ◽  
...  

Upregulated gene 11 (URG11), a new gene upregulated by hepatitis B virus X protein, is involved in the development and progression of several tumors, including liver, stomach, lung, and colon cancers. However, the role of URG11 in prostate cancer remains yet to be elucidated. By determined expression in human prostate cancer tissues, URG11 was found significantly upregulated and positively correlated with the severity of prostate cancer, compared with that in benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues. Further, the mRNA and protein levels of URG11 were significantly upregulated in human prostate cancer cell lines (DU145, PC3, and LNCaP), compared with human prostate epithelial cell line (RWPE-1). Moreover, by the application of siRNA against URG11, the proliferation, migration, and invasion of prostate cancer cells were markedly inhibited. Genetic knockdown of URG11 also induced cell cycle arrest at G1/S phase, induced apoptosis, and decreased the expression level of β-catenin in prostate cancer cells. Overexpression of URG11 promoted the expression of β-catenin, the growth, the migration, and invasion ability of prostate cancer cells. Taken together, this study reveals that URG11 is critical for the proliferation, migration, and invasion in prostate cancer cells, providing the evidence of URG11 to be a novel potential therapeutic target of prostate cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kouji Izumi ◽  
Atsushi Mizokami

Androgen/androgen receptor (AR) signaling is a significant driver of prostate cancer progression, therefore androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is often used as a standard form of treatment for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer patients. However, after several years of ADT, prostate cancer progresses to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Androgen/AR signaling is still considered an important factor for prostate cancer cell survival following CRPC progression, while recent studies have reported dichotomic roles for androgen/AR signaling. Androgen/AR signaling increases prostate cancer cell proliferation, while simultaneously inhibiting migration. As a result, ADT can induce prostate cancer metastasis. Several C-C motif ligand (CCL)-receptor (CCR) axes are involved in cancer cell migration related to blockade of androgen/AR signaling. The CCL2-CCR2 axis is negatively regulated by androgen/AR signaling, with the CCL22-CCR4 axis acting as a further downstream mediator, both of which promote prostate cancer cell migration. Furthermore, the CCL5-CCR5 axis inhibits androgen/AR signaling as an upstream mediator. CCL4 is involved in prostate carcinogenesis through macrophage AR signaling, while the CCL21-CCR7 axis in prostate cancer cells is activated by tumor necrotic factor, which is secreted when androgen/AR signaling is inhibited. Finally, the CCL2-CCR2 axis has recently been demonstrated to be a key contributor to cabazitaxel resistance in CRPC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abrar Samiea ◽  
Jeff S. J. Yoon ◽  
Christopher J. Ong ◽  
Amina Zoubeidi ◽  
Thomas C. Chamberlain ◽  
...  

Interleukin-10 (IL10) is best studied for its inhibitory action on immune cells and ability to suppress an antitumour immune response. But IL10 also exerts direct effects on nonimmune cells such as prostate cancer epithelial cells. Elevated serum levels of IL10 observed in prostate and other cancer patients are associated with poor prognosis. After first-line androgen-deprivation therapy, prostate cancer patients are treated with androgen receptor antagonists such as enzalutamide to inhibit androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell growth. However, development of resistance inevitably occurs and this is associated with tumour differentiation to more aggressive forms such as a neuroendocrine phenotype characterized by expression of neuron specific enolase and synaptophysin. We found that treatment of prostate cancer cell lines in vitro with IL10 or enzalutamide induced markers of neuroendocrine differentiation and inhibited androgen receptor reporter activity. Both also upregulated the levels of PDL1, which could promote tumour survival in vivo through its interaction with the immune cell inhibitory receptor PD1 to suppress antitumour immunity. These findings suggest that IL10’s direct action on prostate cancer cells could contribute to prostate cancer progression independent of IL10’s suppression of host immune cells.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengfei Li ◽  
Heehyoung Lee ◽  
Shaodong Guo ◽  
Terry G. Unterman ◽  
Guido Jenster ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Recent studies suggested that the protection of cell apoptosis by AKT involves phosphorylation and inhibition of FKHR and related FOXO forkhead transcription factors and that androgens provide an AKT-independent cell survival signal in prostate cancer cells. Here, we report receptor-dependent repression of FKHR function by androgens in prostate cancer cells. Transcriptional analysis demonstrated that activation of the androgen receptor caused an inhibition of both wild-type FKHR and a mutant in which all three known AKT sites were mutated to alanines, showing that the repression is AKT independent. In vivo and in vitro coprecipitation studies demonstrated that the repression is mediated through protein-protein interaction between FKHR and the androgen receptor. Mapping analysis localized the interacting domains to the carboxyl terminus between amino acids 350 and 655 of FKHR and to the amino-terminal A/B region and the ligand binding domain of the receptor. Further analysis demonstrated that the activated androgen receptor blocked FKHR's DNA binding activity and impaired its ability to induce Fas ligand expression and prostate cancer cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. These studies identify a new mechanism for androgen-mediated prostate cancer cell survival that appears to be independent of the activity of the receptor on androgen response element-mediated transcription and establish FKHR and related FOXO forkhead proteins as important nuclear targets for both AKT-dependent and -independent survival signals in prostate cancer cells.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 1052-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Chen ◽  
Zhi-kang Cai ◽  
Yan-bo Chen ◽  
Meng Gu ◽  
Da-chao Zheng ◽  
...  

Aims: To investigate global proteomic changes induced in CD44+CD24- stem cells isolated from the prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP and DU145, post prolonged TGF-β treatment in order to understand underlying mechanisms that promote stemness in prostate cancer cells. Methods: CD44+CD133+α2β1Integrin+CD24- population was isolated from mock or TGF-β treated (7 days) prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP, through fluorescent activated cell sorting. Cell lysates were obtained from the ±TGF-β cell population and proteomics profiling (MS/MS) was performed by mass spectrometry. Relative enrichment or depletion in the CD44+CD24-population post-TGF-β treatment was determined relative to mock-treated CD44+CD24- cells post normalization to GAPDH expression levels. Results obtained from MS/MS were validated using immunoblotting. Functional validation of one putative regulator was performed using gain-of-function strategy to investigate its role in rendering stemness in LNCaP and DU145 cells in vitro and in promoting tumorigenicity in vivo. Results: TGF-β treatment caused significant enrichment of CD44+CD24- population in LNCaP cells (22.35 ± 0.94% in mock treated vs 95.23 ± 2.34% in TGF-β treated cells; P < 0.01), which were also positive for CD133 and α2β1Integrin. Mass spectrometry analysis of the enriched cell population revealed that sixty-three proteins were either up- or down-regulated greater than five folds, out of which the poly r(C) binding protein (PCBP)-1 was the most down-regulated (9.31 ± 0.05 folds). Ectopic overexpression of PCBP1 in LNCaP and DU145 cells not only attenuated enrichment of CD44+CD133+CD24- population in these cells following TGF-β treatment, but also significantly decreased tumorigenicity of the stem cell subset, as assessed by in vitro soft agar colony formation and in vivo xenograft assays. Conclusion: Our proteomic profiling and subsequent validation indicate that PCBP1 is central to CSCs enrichment and functionality in prostate cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzia Di Donato ◽  
Carmine Ostacolo ◽  
Pia Giovannelli ◽  
Veronica Di Sarno ◽  
Isabel M. Gomez Monterrey ◽  
...  

AbstractTransient receptor potential melastatin-8 (TRPM8) represents an emerging target in prostate cancer, although its mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we have characterized and investigated the effects of TRPM8 modulators in prostate cancer aggressiveness disclosing the molecular mechanism underlying their biological activity. Patch-clamp and calcium fluorometric assays were used to characterize the synthesized compounds. Androgen-stimulated prostate cancer-derived cells were challenged with the compounds and the DNA synthesis was investigated in a preliminary screening. The most effective compounds were then employed to inhibit the pro-metastatic behavior of in various PC-derived cells, at different degree of malignancy. The effect of the compounds was then assayed in prostate cancer cell-derived 3D model and the molecular targets of selected compounds were lastly identified using transcriptional and non-transcriptional reporter assays. TRPM8 antagonists inhibit the androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasiveness. They are highly effective in reverting the androgen-induced increase in prostate cancer cell spheroid size. The compounds also revert the proliferation of castrate-resistant prostate cancer cells, provided they express the androgen receptor. In contrast, no effects were recorded in prostate cancer cells devoid of the receptor. Selected antagonists interfere in non-genomic androgen action and abolish the androgen-induced androgen receptor/TRPM8 complex assembly as well as the increase in intracellular calcium levels in prostate cancer cells. Our results shed light in the processes controlling prostate cancer progression and make the transient receptor potential melastatin-8 as a ‘druggable’ target in the androgen receptor-expressing prostate cancers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukhneeraj P. Kaur ◽  
Arti Verma ◽  
Hee. K. Lee ◽  
Lillie M. Barnett ◽  
Payaningal R. Somanath ◽  
...  

AbstractCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the most abundant stromal cell type in the tumor microenvironment. CAFs orchestrate tumor-stromal interactions, and contribute to cancer cell growth, metastasis, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, angiogenesis, immunomodulation, and chemoresistance. However, CAFs have not been successfully targeted for the treatment of cancer. The current study elucidates the significance of glypican-1 (GPC-1), a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, in regulating the activation of human bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BSCs) of fibroblast lineage (HS-5). GPC-1 inhibition changed HS-5 cellular and nuclear morphology, and increased cell migration and contractility. GPC-1 inhibition also increased pro-inflammatory signaling and CAF marker expression. GPC-1 induced an activated fibroblast phenotype when HS-5 cells were exposed to prostate cancer cell conditioned media (CCM). Further, treatment of human bone-derived prostate cancer cells (PC-3) with CCM from HS-5 cells exhibiting GPC-1 loss increased prostate cancer cell aggressiveness. Finally, GPC-1 was expressed in mouse tibia bone cells and present during bone loss induced by mouse prostate cancer cells in a murine prostate cancer bone model. These data demonstrate that GPC-1 partially regulates the intrinsic and extrinsic phenotype of human BSCs and transformation into activated fibroblasts, identify novel functions of GPC-1, and suggest that GPC-1 expression in BSCs exerts inhibitory paracrine effects on the prostate cancer cells. This supports the hypothesis that GPC-1 may be a novel pharmacological target for developing anti-CAF therapeutics to control cancer.


Author(s):  
Denisa Baci ◽  
Antonino Bruno ◽  
Caterina Cascini ◽  
Matteo Gallazzi ◽  
Lorenzo Mortara ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in males worldwide. Exacerbated inflammation and angiogenesis have been largely demonstrated to contribute to PCa progression. Diverse naturally occurring compounds and dietary supplements are endowed with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic activities, representing valid compounds to target the aberrant cytokine/chemokine production governing PCa progression and angiogenesis, in a chemopreventive setting. Using mass spectrometry analysis on serum samples of prostate cancer patients, we have previously found higher levels of carnitines in non-cancer individuals, suggesting a protective role. Here we investigated the ability of Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) to interfere with key functional properties of prostate cancer progression and angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo and identified target molecules modulated by ALCAR. Methods The chemopreventive/angiopreventive activities ALCAR were investigated in vitro on four different prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines (PC-3, DU-145, LNCaP, 22Rv1) and a benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) cell line. The effects of ALCAR on the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were investigated by flow cytometry (FC). Functional analysis of cell adhesion, migration and invasion (Boyden chambers) were performed. ALCAR modulation of surface antigen receptor (chemokines) and intracellular cytokine production was assessed by FC. The release of pro-angiogenic factors was detected by a multiplex immunoassay. The effects of ALCAR on PCa cell growth in vivo was investigated using tumour xenografts. Results We found that ALCAR reduces cell proliferation, induces apoptosis, hinders the production of pro inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-γ) and of chemokines CCL2, CXCL12 and receptor CXCR4 involved in the chemotactic axis and impairs the adhesion, migration and invasion capabilities of PCa and BPH cells in vitro. ALCAR exerts angiopreventive activities on PCa by reducing production/release of pro angiogenic factors (VEGF, CXCL8, CCL2, angiogenin) and metalloprotease MMP-9. Exposure of endothelial cells to conditioned media from PCa cells, pre-treated with ALCAR, inhibited the expression of CXCR4, CXCR1, CXCR2 and CCR2 compared to those from untreated cells. Oral administration (drinking water) of ALCAR to mice xenografted with two different PCa cell lines, resulted in reduced tumour cell growth in vivo. Conclusions Our results highlight the capability of ALCAR to down-modulate growth, adhesion, migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells, by reducing the production of several crucial chemokines, cytokines and MMP9. ALCAR is a widely diffused dietary supplements and our findings provide a rational for studying ALCAR as a possible molecule for chemoprevention approaches in subjects at high risk to develop prostate cancer. We propose ALCAR as a new possible “repurposed agent’ for cancer prevention and interception, similar to aspirin, metformin or beta-blockers.


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