The serine-threonine kinase, Akt, has been linked to cholesterol-sensitive signaling mechanisms, suggesting a possible means whereby cholesterol might affect tumor cell growth and survival. However, it has not been shown whether Akt itself, as distinct from upstream components of the pathway (e.g., membrane phosphoinositides), can be directly responsible for cholesterol-mediated effects. Consistent with this possibility, we identified an Akt1 subpopulation in cholesterol-rich lipid raft fractions prepared from LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. Phosphorylation of this Akt subspecies was ablated with methyl-B-cyclodextrin, a cholesterol-binding compound, under conditions where nonlipid raft-resident Akt was unaffected. A myristoylated Akt1 (MyrAkt1) fusion protein expressed in LNCaP cells was found to be highly enriched in lipid rafts, indicating that oncogenic Akt is overrepresented in cholesterol-rich membranes compared with wild-type Akt. Notably, lipid raft-resident MyrAkt1 exhibited a markedly distinct substrate preference compared with MyrAkt1 immunoprecipitated from cytosol and nonraft membrane fractions, suggesting a redirection of signal transduction when the protein is present in cholesterol-rich membranes. Expression of MyrAkt1 in LNCaP cells overcame their characteristic dependence on constitutive signaling through the phosphoinositide 3 ¶-kinase pathway. This protective effect was substantially diminished with cyclodextrin treatment. Phosphorylation of Akt substrates in lipid raft fractions, but not in cytosol/nonraft membrane fractions, was ablated with cyclodextrin. In addition, in control (LacZ transfected) cells, lipid raft fractions were relatively enriched in phosphorylated Akt substrates. Collectively, these data show that a subpopulation of Akt is cholesterol sensitive and that the oncogenic effects conferred by myristoylation arise, in part, from the tendency of the membrane-targeted form of the protein to reside in cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains. [Cancer Res 2007;67(13):6238-46]

MicroRNA (miRNA or miR) inhibition of oncogenic related pathways has been shown to be a promising therapeutic approach for cancer. Aberrant lipid and cholesterol metabolism is involved in prostate cancer development and progression to end-stage disease. We recently demonstrated that a key transcription factor for lipogenesis, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), induced fatty acid and lipid accumulation and androgen receptor (AR) transcriptional activity, and also promoted prostate cancer cell growth and castration resistance. SREBP-1 was overexpressed in human prostate cancer and castration-resistant patient specimens. These experimental and clinical results indicate that SREBP-1 is a potential oncogenic transcription factor in prostate cancer. In this study, we identified two miRNAs, miR-185 and 342, that control lipogenesis and cholesterogenesis in prostate cancer cells by inhibiting SREBP-1 and 2 expression and down-regulating their targeted genes, including fatty acid synthase (FASN) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGCR). Both miR-185 and 342 inhibited tumorigenicity, cell growth, migration and invasion in prostate cancer cell culture and xenograft models coincident with their blockade of lipogenesis and cholesterogenesis. Intrinsic miR-185 and 342 expression was significantly decreased in prostate cancer cells compared to non-cancerous epithelial cells. Restoration of miR-185 and 342 led to caspase-dependent apoptotic death in prostate cancer cells. The newly identified miRNAs, miR-185 and 342, represent a novel targeting mechanism for prostate cancer therapy.

The MST1 serine-threonine kinase, a component of the RASSF1-LATS tumor suppressor network, is involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis and has been implicated in cancer. However, the physiologic role of MST1 in prostate cancer is not well understood. Here, we investigated the possibility of a biochemical and functional link between androgen receptor (AR) and MST1 signaling. We showed that MST1 forms a complex with, and antagonizes, AR transcriptional activity as demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), promoter reporter analysis and molecular genetic methods. In vitro kinase and site-specific mutagenesis approaches indicate that MST1 is a potent AR kinase; however, surprisingly, the kinase activity of MST1 and its pro-apoptotic functions were shown not to be involved in inhibition of AR. MST1 was also found in AR-chromatin complexes, and enforced expression of MST1 reduced the binding of AR to a well-characterized, androgen-responsive region within the prostate specific antigen (PSA) promoter. MST1 suppressed prostate cancer cell growth in vitro and tumor growth in mice. Because MST1 is also involved in regulating the AKT1 pathway, this kinase may be an important new link between androgenic and growth factor signaling and a novel therapeutic target in prostate cancer.

The serine-threonine kinase, Akt1/protein kinase B␣ is an important mediator of growth, survival, and metabolic signaling. Recent studies have implicated cholesterol-rich, lipid raft microdomains in survival signals mediated by Akt1. Here we address the role of lipid raft membranes as a potential site of intersection of androgenic and Akt1 signaling. A subpopulation of androgen receptor (AR) was found to localize to a lipid raft subcellular compartment in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Endogenous AR interacted with endogenous Akt1 preferentially in lipid raft fractions and androgen substantially enhanced the interaction between the two proteins. The association of AR with Akt1 was inhibited by the anti-androgen, bicalutamide, but was not affected by inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). Androgen promoted endogenous Akt1 activity in lipid raft fractions, in a PI3K-independent manner, within 10 min of treatment. Fusion of a lipid raft targeting sequence to AR enhanced localization of the receptor to rafts, and stimulated Akt1 activity in response to androgen, while reducing the cells' dependence on constitutive signaling through PI3K for cell survival. These findings suggest that signals channeled through AR and Akt1 intersect by a mechanism involving formation within lipid raft membranes of an androgen-responsive, extranuclear AR/Akt1 complex. Our results indicate that cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains play a role in transmitting nongenomic signals involving androgen and the Akt pathway in prostate cancer cells. Androgen receptor (AR),3 a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors, is an important regulator of reproductive physiology as a mediator of the biological activities of androgen (1). AR also plays a role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer (PCa), including progression to the androgen-independent state and metastasis (2, 3). Upon androgen binding, the AR undergoes conformational changes and translocates from the cytosol to the nucleus (4), where the receptor-hormone complex regulates the expression of target genes (5).In addition to this well recognized genomic function, AR has been demonstrated to activate intracellular signaling pathways by a rapid (occurring in minutes) non-genomic process activated in response to hormonal stimulation (6, 7). The mechanisms underlying the non-canonical pathways involving the AR and other nuclear receptors are still poorly understood, however, possible nongenomic roles for the AR have been described (8 -12). For example, androgen promotes oocyte maturation, in both Xenopus (10) and mouse (12), by a transcription-independent mechanism that involves the classical AR (12,14). Another report showed that cells treated with 17␤-estradiol (E2) or androgen resulted in cell proliferation mediated by the rapid formation of a cytosolic signaling complex containing estrogen receptor-␣ or -␤ (ER␣ or ER␤ (depending on the cell type)), AR, and the non-receptor tyrosine kinase, Src (8). Similarly, Kousteni et al. (9) showed that ER␣, ER␤, or AR...

Androgen receptor (AR) plays an important role in normal prostate function as well as in the etiology of prostate cancer. Activation of AR is dictated by hormone binding and by interactions with coregulators. Several of these coregulators are known targets of Ras-related signals. Recent evidence suggests that Ras activation may play a causal role in the progression of prostate cancer toward a more malignant and hormone-insensitive phenotype. In the present study, we used a transcription factor-transcription factor interaction array method to identify the zinc finger protein Ras-responsive element binding protein (RREB-1) as a partner and coregulator of AR. In LNCaP prostate cancer cells, RREB-1 was found to be present in a complex with endogenous AR as determined by coimmunoprecipitation, glutathione S-transferase pull down, and immunofluorescence analyses. RREB-1 bound to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) promoter as assessed by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Transient expression of RREB-1 down-regulated AR-mediated promoter activity and suppressed expression of PSA protein. The repressor activity of RREB-1 was significantly attenuated by cotransfection of activated Ras. Moreover, expression of the dominant-negative N-17-Ras or, alternatively, use of the MAPK kinase inhibitor PD98059 [2-(2-amino-3-methyoxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one] abolished the effect of Ras in attenuating RREB-1-mediated repression. Furthermore, inhibition of RREB-1 expression by RNA interference enhanced the effect of Ras on PSA promoter activity and PSA expression. In addition, activation of the Ras pathway depleted AR from the RREB-1/AR complex. Collectively, our data for the first time identify RREB-1 as a repressor of AR and further implicate the Ras/MAPK kinase pathway as a likely antagonist of the inhibitory effects of RREB-1 on androgenic signaling.

The regulation of androgen receptor (AR) expression in prostate cancer is still poorly understood.

JAK2, a member of the Janus kinase superfamily was found to interact functionally with Raf-1, a central component of the ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway. Interferon-y and several other cytokines that are known to activate JAK2 kinase were also found to stimulate Raf-I kinase activity toward MEK-1 in mammalian cells. In the baculovirus coexpression system, Raf-1 was activated by JAK2 in the presence of p2lras. Under these conditions, a ternary complex of p2lras, JAK2, and Raf-1 was observed. In contrast, in the absence of p2lras, coexpression of JAK2 and Raf-1 resulted in an overall decrease in the Raf-1 kinase activity. In addition, JAK2 phosphorylated Raf-1 at sites different from those phosphorylated by pp6Ov-src. In mammalian cells treated with either erythropoietin or interferon-'y, a small fraction of Raf-1 coimmunoprecipitated with JAK2 in lysates of cells in which JAK2 was activated as judged by its state of tyrosine phosphorylation. Taken together, these data suggest that JAK2 and p21ras cooperate to activate Raf-1.The serine/threonine kinase Raf-1 is activated by numerous growth factors (1, 2) and is believed to play a central role in cell growth and differentiation. Binding of a growth factor to its tyrosine kinase receptor at the cell surface leads to p21ras activation that in turn recruits Raf-1 to the plasma membrane (3, 4) through a direct interaction with the N-terminal region of Raf-1. At the cell membrane, Raf-1 is activated in a p21ras-independent manner. Activated Raf-1 phosphorylates and activates MEK-1, leading to activation of the mitogenactivated protein (MAP) kinase cascade (5, 6). Unlike members of the tyrosine kinase receptor superfamily, the cytokine receptors have no intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity, but are dependent mainly upon the JAK family of tyrosine kinases with which they form a stable complex (7-10). Binding of a cytokine to its receptor causes the receptor to dimerize, thereby activating the associated JAK kinases through tyrosine phosphorylation. Activated JAK kinases in turn phosphorylate a number of important cellular substrates, chief among which are members of the STAT family of transcription factors (11)(12)(13)(14). Previous studies have documented that tyrosine phosphorylation of STATs leads to their oligomerization and is essential for activation of their DNA binding activity (15, 16).However, recently it has become apparent that subsequent phosphorylation of STATs on serine/threonine residues is required for their full activation as transcription factors (17,18). It has also been reported that JAK2, p2lras, and Raf-1 are required for the activation of MAP kinases by growth hormone stimulation (19), and in the interferon (IFN) system, STAT activation requires functionally activated MAP kinases (20). This focuses particular interest on the molecular mechanisms by which cytokine receptor family members couple to Raf-1 and to the MAP kinase cascade. Before the discovery of either MEK-1 as a physiological substrate of Raf-1 or ...

Background: Cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains known as lipid rafts have been implicated in diverse physiologic processes including lipid transport and signal transduction. Lipid rafts were originally defined as detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) due to their relative insolubility in cold non-ionic detergents. Recent findings suggest that, although DRMs are not equivalent to lipid rafts, the presence of a given protein within DRMs strongly suggests its potential for raft association in vivo. Therefore, isolation of DRMs represents a useful starting point for biochemical analysis of lipid rafts. The physicochemical properties of DRMs present unique challenges to analysis of their protein composition. Existing methods of isolating DRM-enriched fractions involve flotation of cell extracts in a sucrose density gradient, which, although successful, can be labor intensive, time consuming and results in dilute sucrose-containing fractions with limited utility for direct proteomic analysis. In addition, several studies describing the proteomic characterization of DRMs using this and other approaches have reported the presence of nuclear proteins in such fractions. It is unclear whether these results reflect trafficking of nuclear proteins to DRMs or whether they arise from nuclear contamination during isolation. To address these issues, we have modified a published differential detergent extraction method to enable rapid DRM isolation that minimizes nuclear contamination and yields fractions compatible with mass spectrometry.