p300 modulates nuclear morphology in prostate cancer

Alterations in nuclear structure distinguish cancer cells from noncancer cells. These nuclear alterations can be translated into quantifiable features by digital image analysis in a process known as quantitative nuclear morphometry. Recently, quantitative nuclear morphometry has been shown to predict metastasis and biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms underlying these nuclear morphometric changes. Alterations of nuclear matrix proteins are frequently involved in changes of nuclear structure. A number of co-activators interact with these nuclear structure-related proteins, suggesting that they might be involved in quantitative nuclear morphometry changes. We have shown previously that the transcriptional co-activator p300 is involved in prostate cancer progression. However, the ability of a transcriptional regulator like p300 to modulate nuclear morphology has not been described previously. In the present study, we show that p300 expression in prostate cancer biopsy tissue from 95 patients correlates with quantifiable nuclear alterations. Moreover, we show that transfection of p300 into prostate cancer cells in culture induces quantifiable nuclear alterations, such as diameter, perimeter, and absorbance among others, as assessed by digital image analysis. These alterations correlate individually with aggressive features in prostate cancer, such as expression of the proliferation marker Ki-67 and extraprostatic extension of the tumor. Finally, we found that transfection of p300 into prostate cancer cells specifically increases mRNA and protein levels of nuclear matrix peptides lamins A and C, suggesting that these proteins mediate the p300-induced effects. These findings reveal a new insight into the transcriptional and structural regulation of prostate cancer.