The p160 steroid receptor coactivators (SRCs) SRC-1, SRC-2 [nuclear receptor coactivator (NCOA)2], and SRC-3 [amplified in breast cancer 1 (AIB1)/NCOA3] are key pleiotropic "master regulators" of transcription factor activity necessary for cancer cell proliferation, survival, metabolism, and metastasis. SRC overexpression and overactivation occur in numerous human cancers and are associated with poor clinical outcomes and resistance to therapy. In prostate cancer (PC), the p160 SRCs play critical roles in androgen receptor transcriptional activity, cell proliferation, and resistance to androgen deprivation therapy. We recently demonstrated that the E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor speckle-type poxvirus and zinc finger (POZ) domain protein (SPOP) interacts directly with SRC-3 and promotes its cullin 3-dependent ubiquitination and proteolysis in breast cancer, thus functioning as a potential tumor suppressor. Interestingly, somatic heterozygous missense mutations in the SPOP substrate-binding cleft recently were identified in up to 15% of human PCs (making SPOP the gene most commonly affected by nonsynonymous point mutations in PC), but their contribution to PC pathophysiology remains unknown. We now report that PC-associated SPOP mutants cannot interact with SRC-3 protein or promote its ubiquitination and degradation. Our data suggest that wild-type SPOP plays a critical tumor suppressor role in PC cells, promoting the turnover of SRC-3 protein and suppressing androgen receptor transcriptional activity. This tumor suppressor effect is abrogated by the PC-associated SPOP mutations. These studies provide a possible explanation for the role of SPOP mutations in PC, and highlight the potential of SRC-3 as a therapeutic target in PC.proteasome | MATH domain | BTB domain

The androgen receptor (AR) is a key driver of prostate cancer (PC), even in the state of castration-resistant PC (CRPC) and frequently even after treatment with second-line hormonal therapies such as abiraterone and enzalutamide. The persistence of AR activity via both ligand-dependent and ligand-independent mechanisms (including constitutively active AR splice variants) highlights the unmet need for alternative approaches to block AR signaling in CRPC. We investigated the transcription factor GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2) as a regulator of AR signaling and an actionable therapeutic target in PC. We demonstrate that GATA2 directly promotes expression of both full-length and splice-variant AR, resulting in a strong positive correlation between GATA2 and AR expression in both PC cell lines and patient specimens. Conversely, GATA2 expression is repressed by androgen and AR, suggesting a negative feedback regulatory loop that, upon androgen deprivation, derepresses GATA2 to contribute to AR overexpression in CRPC. Simultaneously, GATA2 is necessary for optimal transcriptional activity of both fulllength and splice-variant AR. GATA2 colocalizes with AR and Forkhead box protein A1 on chromatin to enhance recruitment of steroid receptor coactivators and formation of the transcriptional holocomplex. In agreement with these important functions, high GATA2 expression and transcriptional activity predicted worse clinical outcome in PC patients. A GATA2 small molecule inhibitor suppressed the expression and transcriptional function of both full-length and splice-variant AR and exerted potent anticancer activity against PC cell lines. We propose pharmacological inhibition of GATA2 as a firstin-field approach to target AR expression and function and improve outcomes in CRPC.prostate cancer | small molecule inhibitor | AR signaling | GATA2 | steroid receptor coactivator

Somatic missense mutations in the substrate-binding pocket of the E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor SPOP are present in up to 15% of human prostate adenocarcinomas (PC), but are rare in other malignancies suggesting a prostate-specific mechanism of action. SPOP promotes ubiquitination and degradation of several protein substrates, including the androgen receptor (AR) coactivator factor SRC-3. However, the relative contributions that SPOP substrates may contribute to the pathophysiology of SPOP-mutant (mt) PC is unknown. Using an unbiased bioinformatics approach, we determined that the gene expression profile of PC cells engineered to express mt-SPOP overlaps greatly with the gene signature of both SRC-3 and AR transcriptional output, with a stronger effect on AR than SRC-3. This finding suggests that in addition to its SRC-3-mediated effects, SPOP also exerts SRC-3-independent effects that are AR mediated. Indeed, we found that wild-type (wt) but not PC-associated mutants of SPOP promoted AR ubiquitination and degradation, acting directly through a SPOP-binding motif in the hinge region of AR. In support of these results, tumor xenografts composed of PC cells expressing mt-SPOP expressed higher AR protein levels and grew faster than tumors composed of PC cells expressing wt-SPOP. Further, genetic ablation of SPOP was sufficient to increase AR protein levels in mouse prostate. Examination of public human PC datasets confirmed a strong link between transcriptomic profiles of mt-SPOP and AR. Overall, our studies highlight the AR axis as the key transcriptional output of SPOP in PC, and they provide an explanation for the prostate-specific tumor suppressor role of wt-SPOP.

MicroRNAs are important epigenetic regulators of protein expression by triggering degradation of target mRNAs and/or inhibiting their translation. Dysregulation of microRNA expression has been reported in several cancers, including prostate cancer (PC). We comprehensively characterized the proteomic footprint of a panel of 12 microRNAs that are potently Suppressed in Metastatic PC (SiM-miRNAs: miR-1, miR-133a, miR-133b, miR-135a, miR-143-3p, miR-145-3p, miR-205, miR-221-3p, miR-221-5p, miR-222-3p, miR-24-1-5p and miR-31) using Reverse Phase Proteomic Arrays (RPPA). Re-expression of these SiM-miRNAs in PC cells suppressed cell proliferation and targeted key oncogenic pathways, including cell cycle, apoptosis, Akt/mTOR signaling, metastasis and the AR axis. However, only 12%, at most, of these observed protein expression changes could be explained by predicted direct binding of miRNAs to corresponding mRNAs, suggesting that the majority of these proteomic effects result indirectly. AR and its Steroid Receptor Coactivators (SRC-1, -2, and -3) were recurrently affected by these SiM-miRNAs. In agreement, we identified inverse correlations between expression of these SiM-miRNAs and early clinical recurrence, as well as with AR transcriptional activity in human PC tissues. We also identified robust induction of miR-135a by androgen and strong direct binding of AR to the miR-135a locus. As miR-135a potently suppresses AR expression, this results in a negative feedback loop that suppresses AR protein expression in an androgen-dependent manner, while de-repressing AR expression upon androgen deprivation. Our results demonstrate that epigenetic silencing of these SiM-miRNAs can result in increased AR axis activity and cell proliferation, thus contributing to disease progression. We further demonstrate that a negative feedback loop involving miR-135a can restore AR expression under androgen deprivation conditions, thus contributing to the upregulation of AR protein expression in CRPC. Finally, our unbiased proteomic profiling demonstrates that the majority of actual protein expression changes induced by SiM-miRNAs cannot be explained based on predicted direct interactions.

Biodegradable branched polycationic polymers with varying hydrophilic spacer lengths were synthesized from different triacrylate monomers and the amine monomer 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine by Michael addition polymerization. The hydrophilic spacers were varied by the number of ethyleneoxy groups in the triacrylate monomer (E/M) that ranged from 0 to 14. The polymer degradation depended on the spacer length and pH; the amount of ester degraded as determined by 1H-NMR after 14 days was 43.4 ± 2.1% (pH 5.0) and 89.7 ± 1.3% (pH 7.4) for the polymer with 0 E/M compared to 55.7 ± 2.6% (pH 5.0) and 98.5 ± 1.6% (pH 7.4) for the polymer with 14 E/M. Cell viability of rat fibroblasts after exposure to polymer solutions of concentrations up to 1000 μg/mL remained high (above 66.9 ± 12.1% compared to below 7.6 ± 1.1% for polyethylenimine at a concentration of 50 μg/mL or higher) and increased with the spacer length. The polyplexes made with all the synthesized polymers showed higher transfection efficiency (4.5 ± 1.7% to 9.4 ± 2.0%, dependent on the polymer/pDNA weight ratio) with an enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter gene compared to naked pDNA (0.8 ± 0.4%) as quantified by flow cytometry. This study demonstrates that hydrophilic spacers can be incorporated into polycationic polymers to reduce their cytotoxicity and enhance their degradability for non-viral gene delivery.