Person:

Gao, Yanfei

The androgen receptor (AR) is a key factor that regulates the behavior and fate of prostate cancer cells. The AR-regulated network is activated when AR binds enhancer elements and modulates specific enhancer–promoter looping. Kallikrein-related peptidase 3 (KLK3), which codes for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is a well-known AR-regulated gene and its upstream enhancers produce bidirectional enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), termed KLK3e. Here, we demonstrate that KLK3e facilitates the spatial interaction of the KLK3 enhancer and the KLK2 promoter and enhances long-distance KLK2 transcriptional activation. KLK3e carries the core enhancer element derived from the androgen response element III (ARE III), which is required for the interaction of AR and Mediator 1 (Med1). Furthermore, we show that KLK3e processes RNA-dependent enhancer activity depending on the integrity of core enhancer elements. The transcription of KLK3e was detectable and its expression is significantly correlated with KLK3 ((R^2 = 0.6213, P < 5 × 10^{−11})) and KLK2 ((R^2 = 0.5893, P < 5 × 10^{−10})) in human prostate tissues. Interestingly, RNAi silencing of KLK3e resulted in a modest negative effect on prostate cancer cell proliferation. Accordingly, we report that an androgen-induced eRNA scaffolds the AR-associated protein complex that modulates chromosomal architecture and selectively enhances AR-dependent gene expression.

The androgen receptor (AR) has been identified for decades and mediates essential steroid functions. Like most of biological molecules, AR functional activities are modulated by post-translational modifications. This review is focused on the reported activities and significance of AR phosphorylation, with particular emphasis on proline-directed serine/threonine phosphorylation that occurs predominantly on the receptor. The marked enrichment of AR phosphorylation in the most diverse N-terminal domain suggests that targeting AR phosphorylation can be synergistic to antagonizing the C-terminal domain by clinical antiandrogens.