TY - JOUR
T1 - TMPrSS2-ERG controls luminal epithelial lineage and antiandrogen sensitivity in PTEN and TP53-mutated prostate cancer
AU - Blee, Alexandra M.
AU - He, Yundong
AU - Yang, Yinhui
AU - Ye, Zhenqing
AU - Yan, Yuqian
AU - Pan, Yunqian
AU - Ma, Tao
AU - Dugdale, Joseph
AU - Kuehn, Emily
AU - Kohli, Manish
AU - Jimenez, Rafael
AU - Chen, Yu
AU - Xu, Wanhai
AU - Wang, Liguo
AU - Huang, Haojie
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by grants from NIH (CA134514, CA130908, CA203849, and CA193239; to H. Huang) and DOD (W81XWH-14-1-0486; to H. Huang).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Association for Cancer Research.
PY - 2018/9/15
Y1 - 2018/9/15
N2 - Purpose: Deletions or mutations in PTEN and TP53 tumor suppressor genes have been linked to lineage plasticity in therapy-resistant prostate cancer. Fusion-driven overexpression of the oncogenic transcription factor ERG is observed in approximately 50% of all prostate cancers, many of which also harbor PTEN and TP53 alterations. However, the role of ERG in lineage plasticity of PTEN/TP53–altered tumors is unclear. Understanding the collective effect of multiple mutations within one tumor is essential to combat plasticity-driven therapy resistance. Experimental Design: We generated a Pten-negative/Trp53-mutated/ERG-overexpressing mouse model of prostate cancer and integrated RNA-sequencing with ERG chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) to identify pathways regulated by ERG in the context of Pten/Trp53 alteration. We investigated ERG-dependent sensitivity to the antiandrogen enzalutamide and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor palbociclib in human prostate cancer cell lines, xenografts, and allografted mouse tumors. Trends were evaluated in TCGA, SU2C, and Beltran 2016 published patient cohorts and a human tissue microarray. Results: Transgenic ERG expression in mice blocked Pten/ Trp53 alteration–induced decrease of AR expression and downstream luminal epithelial genes. ERG directly suppressed expression of cell cycle–related genes, which induced RB hypophosphorylation and repressed E2F1-mediated expression of mesenchymal lineage regulators, thereby restricting adenocarcinoma plasticity and maintaining antiandrogen sensitivity. In ERG-negative tumors, CDK4/6 inhibition delayed tumor growth. Conclusions: Our studies identify a previously undefined function of ERG to restrict lineage plasticity and maintain antiandrogen sensitivity in PTEN/TP53–altered prostate cancer. Our findings suggest ERG fusion as a biomarker to guide treatment of PTEN/TP53-altered, RB1-intact prostate cancer.
AB - Purpose: Deletions or mutations in PTEN and TP53 tumor suppressor genes have been linked to lineage plasticity in therapy-resistant prostate cancer. Fusion-driven overexpression of the oncogenic transcription factor ERG is observed in approximately 50% of all prostate cancers, many of which also harbor PTEN and TP53 alterations. However, the role of ERG in lineage plasticity of PTEN/TP53–altered tumors is unclear. Understanding the collective effect of multiple mutations within one tumor is essential to combat plasticity-driven therapy resistance. Experimental Design: We generated a Pten-negative/Trp53-mutated/ERG-overexpressing mouse model of prostate cancer and integrated RNA-sequencing with ERG chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) to identify pathways regulated by ERG in the context of Pten/Trp53 alteration. We investigated ERG-dependent sensitivity to the antiandrogen enzalutamide and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor palbociclib in human prostate cancer cell lines, xenografts, and allografted mouse tumors. Trends were evaluated in TCGA, SU2C, and Beltran 2016 published patient cohorts and a human tissue microarray. Results: Transgenic ERG expression in mice blocked Pten/ Trp53 alteration–induced decrease of AR expression and downstream luminal epithelial genes. ERG directly suppressed expression of cell cycle–related genes, which induced RB hypophosphorylation and repressed E2F1-mediated expression of mesenchymal lineage regulators, thereby restricting adenocarcinoma plasticity and maintaining antiandrogen sensitivity. In ERG-negative tumors, CDK4/6 inhibition delayed tumor growth. Conclusions: Our studies identify a previously undefined function of ERG to restrict lineage plasticity and maintain antiandrogen sensitivity in PTEN/TP53–altered prostate cancer. Our findings suggest ERG fusion as a biomarker to guide treatment of PTEN/TP53-altered, RB1-intact prostate cancer.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052697424&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85052697424&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0653
DO - 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0653
M3 - Article
C2 - 29844131
AN - SCOPUS:85052697424
SN - 1078-0432
VL - 24
SP - 4551
EP - 4565
JO - Clinical Cancer Research
JF - Clinical Cancer Research
IS - 18
ER -