AKR1C3 Promotes AR-V7 Protein Stabilization and Confers Resistance to AR-Targeted Therapies in Advanced Prostate Cancer

Abstract

The mechanisms resulting in resistance to next-generation antiandrogens in castration-resistant prostate cancer are incompletely understood. Numerous studies have determined that constitutively active androgen receptor (AR) signaling or full-length AR bypass mechanisms may contribute to the resistance. Previous studies established that AKR1C3 and AR-V7 play important roles in enzalutamide and abiraterone resistance. In the present study, we found that AKR1C3 increases AR-V7 expression in resistant prostate cancer cells through enhancing protein stability via activation of the ubiquitin-mediated proteasome pathway. AKR1C3 reprograms AR signaling in enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer cells. In addition, bioinformatical analysis of indomethacin-treated resistant cells revealed that indomethacin significantly activates the unfolded protein response, p53, and apoptosis pathways, and suppresses cell-cycle, Myc, and AR/ARV7 pathways. Targeting AKR1C3 with indomethacin significantly decreases AR/AR-V7 protein expression in vitro and in vivo through activation of the ubiquitin-mediated proteasome pathway. Our results suggest that the AKR1C3/AR-V7 complex collaboratively confers resistance to AR-targeted therapies in advanced prostate cancer.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2019
Source ID
10.1158/1535-7163.mct-18-1322

Entities

People

  • Alan P. Lombard
  • Allen C Gao
  • Binhao Zou
  • Cameron M. Armstrong
  • Chengfei Liu
  • Christopher P Evans
  • Joy C. Yang
  • Leandro S. D’Abronzo
  • Liangren Liu
  • Wei Lou
  • Xiaomin Qiu

Organizations

  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of California
  • University of California, Davis
  • Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Oncology (Cancer Research).
  • Prostate Cancer Biology.