Project description:Androgen receptor variant 7 (AR-V7) has been proposed to have independent functional roles different from full length AR. Here we study the functional roles of AR-V7 in chemotherapy castration resiatnt prostate cancer models by ChIp-sequencing approaches.
Project description:The androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) lacks the ligand-binding domain; is detected with increased frequency in advanced prostate cancer and is postulated to be one crucial mechanism for disease progression and therapeutic resistance to androgen deprivation in castration–resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Targeting AR-V7 or unique downstream targets could provide novel therapeutic approaches for CRPC. Here, we report that, independent of ligand, AR-V7 binds not only to the androgen-responsive element (ARE) sites inducing canonical AR signaling but also to non-canonical target sites where ligand-stimulated full-length AR (AR-FL) does not bind. These AR-V7 “solo” binding sites are mainly found at gene promoters and are co-occupied by a zinc-finger transcription factor ZFX and the co-activator BRD4, both of which physically interact with AR-V7. Consequently, AR-V7 not only recapitulates AR-FL action without androgen but uniquely regulates transcripts correlating with AR-V7 expression in the TCGA prostate cancer cohort. Mechanistically, ZFX appears to function as a pioneer factor for AR-V7 at solo-binding sites and BRD4 inhibitors but not anti-androgens suppress AR-V7 action at solo-binding sites as well as AR-V7-dependent growth. Additionally, knockdown of ZFX, or two downstream targets uniquely co-activated by AR-V7 (ZNF32 and FZD6), also suppressed growth of AR-V7-dependent CRPC cells. AR-V7 directly activated genes differentiate tumor from normal prostate tissues and predict poor prognosis in patients. Thus AR-V7 has both canonical and non-canonical regulatory functions in CRPC, which may provide new therapeutic avenues.
Project description:We report the application of RNA sequencing to uncover the process through which sustained overexpression of the canonical MED19 isoform in androgen-dependent LNCaP cells enhances growth under conditions of androgen deprivation. We identified the canonical MED19 transcriptome by comparing control LNCaP cells with those expressing canonical MED19. This research offers significant understanding of the mechanism by which prostate cancer cells grow under low androgen conditions, emphasizing the key role of the canonical MED19 isoform in this process.
Project description:To determine the relative functions of K9 modification on variant and canonical H3, we compared the phenotypes caused by engineering H3.3K9R and H3K9R mutant genotypes in Drosophila melanogaster. Whereas most H3.3K9R and a small number of H3K9R mutant animals are capable of completing development and do not have substantially altered protein coding transcriptomes, all H3.3K9R H3K9R combined mutants die soon after embryogenesis and display decreased expression of genes enriched for K9ac. These data indicate that the role of K9ac in gene activation during development can be provided by either H3 or H3.3. Conversely, we found that H3.3K9 is methylated at telomeric transposons, and this mark contributes to repressive chromatin architecture, supporting a role for H3.3 in heterochromatin that is distinct from that of H3. Thus, our genetic and molecular analyses demonstrate that K9 modification of variant and canonical H3 have overlapping roles in development and transcriptional regulation, though to differing extents in euchromatin and heterochromatin.
Project description:Background. Androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7) is a truncated form of the androgen receptor protein which lacks the ligand-binding domain, the target of enzalutamide and abiraterone, but remains constitutively active as a transcription factor. We hypothesized that detection of AR-V7 in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from men with advanced prostate cancer would be associated with resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone. Methods. We used quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase-chain-reaction (qRT-PCR) to interrogate CTCs for the presence or absence of AR-V7 from prospectively enrolled patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer initiating treatment with either enzalutamide or abiraterone. We examined associations between AR-V7 status and PSA response rates, PSA-progression-free-survival (PSA-PFS), clinical/radiographic-progression-free-survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the independent effect of AR-V7 status on clinical outcomes. Results. Thirty-one enzalutamide-treated patients and thirty-one abiraterone-treated patients were enrolled, of which 38.7% and 19.4% had detectable AR-V7 from CTCs, respectively. Among men receiving enzalutamide, AR-V7–positive patients had inferior PSA response rates (0% vs 52.6%, P=0.004), PSA-PFS (median: 1.4 vs 6.0 months, P<0.001), PFS (median: 2.1 vs 6.1 months, P<0.001), and OS (median: 5.5 months vs not reached, P=0.002) compared to AR-V7–negative patients. Similarly, among men receiving abiraterone, AR-V7–positive patients had inferior PSA response rates (0% vs 68.0%, P=0.004), PSA-PFS (median: 1.3 months vs not reached, P<0.001), PFS (median: 2.3 months vs not reached, P<0.001), and OS (median: 10.6 months vs not reached, P=0.006). The negative prognostic impact of AR-V7 was maintained after adjusting for full-length-AR expression. Conclusions. Detection of AR-V7 in CTCs from patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer is associated with resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone. A total of four metastatic castration-resistant prostate tumor samples from four patients were subjected to RNA-seq. Two samples were positive for androgen receptor splice variant 7 and the other two were negative for this variant.
Project description:In the treatment of patients with locally advanced prostate cancer (PCa), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) significantly enhances the efficacy of radiotherapy by weakening the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway. Recently, several studies have suggested that androgen receptor splicing variants (ARvs) may mediate a compensatory DDR pathway when canonical androgen receptor (AR) signaling is inhibited, thus contributing to the resistance of some patients to this combinational treatment. However, the specific roles of certain ARvs as well as the detailed mechanism of how ARvs regulate the DDR are not well understood. Here, we demonstrated that AR splicing variant 7 (ARv7), which is the most abundant form of ARvs, significantly promotes the DDR of PCa cells under severe DNA damage independent of its parental AR by using the ionizing radiation (IR) and doxorubicin (Dox)-treated cell models. Mechanistically, ARv7 is sufficient to upregulate both the homologous recombination (HR) and the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathways by forming a positive regulatory loop with poly ADP-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1). Moreover, the presence of ARv7 impairs the synergistic effect between AR antagonists and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, which has been recently shown to be a promising future treatment strategy for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Combined, our data indicate that constitutively active ARv7 not only contributes to radioresistance after ADT, but may also serve as a potential predictive biomarker for assessing the efficacy of novel PARP inhibitor-based therapy in PCa.
Project description:A few recent reports uncovered a HOXB13 variant (X285K) predisposing to prostate cancer in men of West-African ancestry. The protein function associated with this inherited variant is unknown. To elucidate the oncogenic mechanisms of the X285K protein, we designed an in vitro cell-line model to evaluate oncogenic functions associated with the X285K protein. Replacement of the wild-type HOXB13 protein with the X285K protein resulted in a gain of the E2F/MYC signature, validated by a gain in the expression of Cyclin B1 and c-MYC, without affecting the androgen response signature. In conclusion, Functional studies revealed a unique gain-of-function oncogenic mechanism of X285K protein in regulating E2F/MYC signatures.
Project description:Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1, KDM1A) functions as a transcriptional corepressor through demethylation of histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4), but has coactivator function on some genes through unclear mechanisms. We show that LSD1, interacting with CoREST, associates with and coactivates androgen receptor (AR) on a large fraction of androgen-stimulated genes. A subset of these AR/LSD1-associated enhancer sites have histone 3 threonine 6 phosphorylation (H3T6ph), and these sites are further enriched for androgen-stimulated genes. Significantly, despite its coactivator activity, LSD1 still mediates H3K4me2 demethylation at these androgen-stimulated enhancers. FOXA1 is also associated with LSD1 at AR regulated enhancer sites, and a FOXA1 interaction with LSD1 enhances binding of both proteins at these sites. These findings show LSD1 functions broadly as a regulator of AR function, that it maintains a transcriptional repression function at AR-regulated enhancers through H3K4 demethylation, and has a distinct AR-linked coactivator function mediated by demethylation of other substrates. Determine the role of LSD1 in androgen signaling.
Project description:We have previously identified a family of novel androgen receptor (AR) ligands that, upon binding, enable AR to adopt structures distinct from that observed in the presence of canonical agonists. In this report, we describe the use of these compounds to establish a relationship between AR structure and biological activity with a view to defining a rational approach with which to identify useful Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs). As one of the approaches, we used a DNA microarray analysis to demonstrate that differently conformed receptors facilitate distinct patterns of gene expression in LNCaP cells. Interestingly, we observed a complete overlap in the identity of genes expressed following treatment with mechanistically distinct AR ligands. However, it was differences in the kinetics of gene regulation that distinguished these compounds. Follow-up studies, in cell-based assays of AR action, confirmed the importance of these alterations in gene expression. Together these studies demonstrate an important link between AR structure, gene expression and biological outcome. Keywords: Comparative gene expression analysis, cell culture, prostate carcinoma, androgen receptor, selective modulators of androgen receptor, SARM