The androgen receptor (AR) is central in prostate tissue identity and differentiation, and controls normal growth-suppressive, prostate-specific gene expression. It also drives prostate tumorigenesis when hijacked for oncogenic transcription. The execution of growth-suppressive AR transcriptional programs in prostate cancer (PCa) and the potential for reactivation remain unclear. Here, we use a genome-wide approach to modulate canonical androgen response element (ARE) motifs-the classic DNA binding elements for AR-to delineate distinct AR transcriptional programs. We find that activating these AREs promotes differentiation and growth-suppressive transcription, potentially leading to AR+ PCa cell death, while ARE repression is tolerated by PCa cells but deleterious to normal prostate cells. Gene signatures driven by ARE activity correlate with improved prognosis and luminal phenotypes in PCa patients. Canonical AREs maintain a normal, lineage-specific transcriptional program that can be reengaged in PCa cells, offering therapeutic potential and clinical relevance.
Nature communications. 2024 Dec 13*** epublish ***
Xuanrong Chen, Michael A Augello, Deli Liu, Kevin Lin, Alex Hakansson, Martin Sjöström, Francesca Khani, Lesa D Deonarine, Yang Liu, Jaida Travascio-Green, Jiansheng Wu, Un In Chan, Jude Owiredu, Massimo Loda, Felix Y Feng, Brian D Robinson, Elai Davicioni, Andrea Sboner, Christopher E Barbieri
Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA., Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA., Veracyte, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA., Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA., Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA., The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA., Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA. .