Project description:The retinoblastoma protein (RB) is preferentially lost in the progression to castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, the alterations associated with such loss have been scantly described. Current findings have identified a novel E2F1 associated cistrome and transcriptome that is associated with RB loss in PCa. In order to determine the contribution of chromatin accessibility to alterations in E2F1 activity, ATAC-Seq was performed.
Project description:Genomic loss of RB1 is a common alteration in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and is associated with poor patient outcomes. RB1-loss is also a driver event that promotes the neuroendocrine transdifferentiation of prostate cancer (PCa). The loss of Rb protein disrupts the Rb-E2F repressor complex and thus hyperactivates E2F transcription activators. While the impact of RB1-loss on PCa progression and linage plasticity has been previously studied, the underline mechanisms remain unclear. Using an integrated cistromic and transcriptomic analysis, we have characterized Rb activities in multiple CRPC models by identifying Rb directly regulated genes and revealed that Rb has distinct binding sites and targets in TP53-mutated CRPC. Significantly, we show that RB1-loss promotes the noncanonical activator function of LSD1/KDM1A, which stabilizes chromatin binding of E2F1, and hence sensitizes CRPC tumor to the LSD1 inhibitor treatment. These results provide new molecular insights of Rb activity in PCa progression and suggest LSD1 as a potential therapeutic target in CRPC with RB1-loss.
Project description:Genomic loss of RB1 is a common alteration in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and is associated with poor patient outcomes. RB1-loss is also a driver event that promotes the neuroendocrine transdifferentiation of prostate cancer (PCa). The loss of Rb protein disrupts the Rb-E2F repressor complex and thus hyperactivates E2F transcription activators. While the impact of RB1-loss on PCa progression and linage plasticity has been previously studied, the underline mechanisms remain unclear. Using an integrated cistromic and transcriptomic analysis, we have characterized Rb activities in multiple CRPC models by identifying Rb directly regulated genes and revealed that Rb has distinct binding sites and targets in TP53-mutated CRPC. Significantly, we show that RB1-loss promotes the noncanonical activator function of LSD1/KDM1A, which stabilizes chromatin binding of E2F1, and hence sensitizes CRPC tumor to the LSD1 inhibitor treatment. These results provide new molecular insights of Rb activity in PCa progression and suggest LSD1 as a potential therapeutic target in CRPC with RB1-loss.
Project description:Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) marks the advanced and lethal stage of prostate cancer (PCa). TRIM28, also known as KAP1, is a transcriptional regulator recently shown to promote CRPC cell proliferation and xenograft tumor growth. Nonetheless, knowledge gaps persist regarding the mechanisms underlying TRIM28 upregulation in CRPC as well as the genomic targets regulated by TRIM28. Here, we report that TRIM28 is a novel E2F1-target in CRPC. Using an integrated genomic approach, we have demonstrated that TRIM28 forms a positive feedback loop to promote the transcription activation and genomic function of E2F1 independent of Rb status. Furthermore, we identified RSK1 as a kinase that directly phosphorylates TRIM28 at S473, and as such, RSK1 drives the TRIM28-E2F1 feedback loop. Accordingly, pS473-TRIM28 promotes CRPC progression, which is mitigated by RSK inhibition. In summary, our study reveals a critical role of the RSK1–TRIM28–E2F1 axis in CRPC progression, which may be exploited as a vulnerability in treating Rb-deficient CRPC.
Project description:Lineage plasticity is a major mechanism driving prostate cancer progression and antiandrogen therapy resistance. Deletions or mutations in phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and TP53 tumor suppressor genes have been linked to lineage plasticity in prostate cancer. Fusion-driven overexpression of the E-twenty-six transformation specific (ETS)-related gene (ERG), encoding an oncogenic transcription factor, is observed in approximately 50% of all prostate cancers, yet its role in prostate cell lineage determination remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that transgenic expression of prostate cancer-associated ERG blocks Pten and Trp53 mutation-induced decreased expression of Ar and its downstream target genes and loss of luminal epithelial cell identity in the mouse prostate. Integrative analyses of ERG chromatin-immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) and transcriptome data show that ERG suppresses expression of a subset of cell cycle-promoting genes and RB phosphorylation, which in turn causes repression of E2F1-mediated expression of non-epithelial lineage genes. Xenograft studies show that PTEN/TP53 double mutated prostate tumors are responsive to the cyclin-dependent kinase 4 or 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor palbociclib, but resistant to the AR inhibitor enzalutamide, while ERG/PTEN/TP53 triple-mutated prostate tumors behave completely opposite. Our studies identify ERG and the repressed cell cycle gene signature as intrinsic inhibitors of PTEN/TP53 double mutation-elicited lineage plasticity in prostate cancer. Our findings also suggest that ERG fusion can be utilized as a biomarker to guide the treatment of PTEN/TP53-mutated, RB1-intact prostate cancer with either antiandrogen or anti-CDK4/6 therapies.
Project description:Biological implications of healthy- and tumor-specific ERα cistromes in endometrial tumors have largely been understudied. Moreover, the functional impact of non-coding somatic variants has commonly been underexplored and remained elusive. This study is aimed to provide functional interpretation of non-coding somatic variants associated with tumor-specific ERα cistrome. Integrating the ChIP-seq analyses with the whole genome sequencing from the set of metastatic endometrial tumors and matched controls we observed that tumor-specific ERα cistrome is enriched for somatic variants. Additionally, H3K27Ac Hi-ChIP in cancer cell lines identified potential target genes of tumor-specific enhancers and coincident variants. We aim to employ CRISPR to identify tumor-specific ERα enhancers and target genes critical for estrogen-driven proliferation of endometrial cancer-cell lines. Through multidimensional omics data integration, our study is specifically geared to shed new lights on the molecular mechanisms of endometrial cancer development and progression and the functional impact of non-coding somatic mutations.