EBP1 inhibits translation of androgen receptor mRNA in castration resistant prostate cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Therapies that inhibit androgen receptor (AR) are needed for treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The ErbB3 binding protein 1 (EBP1) reduces protein expression of both AR and its target genes in CRPC. Although EBP1 regulates AR in hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cells, by both destabilizing AR mRNA and inhibiting protein translation, the mechanism of EBP1 down regulation of AR in CRPC is unknown.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Western blot and quantitative PCR analysis of cell lysates and polysomes were used to assess AR mRNA, protein expression and translation.

RESULTS

In contrast to hormone- dependent cells, EBP1 did not change steady state levels of AR mRNA or AR mRNA stability in hormone refractory cells. EBP1 did slow protein translation of AR mRNA. The ErbB3/4 ligand heregulin further diminished AR translation in EBP1 -transfected cells, but not in control cells.

CONCLUSION

These studies suggest that one pathway of EBP1 down-regulation of AR levels may be lost in CRPC.

The role of ErbB3 and its binding partners in breast cancer progression and resistance to hormone and tyrosine kinase directed therapies

An increasingly important role for the ErbB3 receptor in the genesis and progression of breast cancer is emerging. ErbB3 is frequently overexpressed in breast cancer and coexpression of ErbB2/3 is a poor prognostic indicator. ErbB3 has also been implicated in the development of resistance to antiestrogens such as tamoxifen and ErbB tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as gefitinib. Persistent activation of the AKT pathway has been postulated to contribute to ErbB3-mediated resistance to these therapies. This activation may be due in part to the inappropriate production of the ErbB3 ligand heregulin. ErbB3 binding proteins, which negatively regulate ErbB3 protein levels and the ability of ErbB3 to transmit proliferative signals, also contribute to breast cancer progression and treatment resistance. These proteins include the intracellular RING finger E3 ubiquitin ligase Nrdp1 and the leucine-rich protein LRIG-1 that mediate receptor degradation. Ebp1, another ErbB3 binding protein, suppresses HRG driven breast cancer cell growth and contributes to tamoxifen sensitivity. These studies point to the importance of the evaluation of protein levels and functional activity of ErbB3 and its binding proteins in breast cancer prognosis and prediction of clinical response to treatment.

Identification of Ebp1 as a component of cytoplasmic bcl-2 mRNP (messenger ribonucleoprotein particle) complexes

The 3'-UTR (untranslated region) of bcl-2 mRNA contains an ARE (AU-rich element) that potentially regulates the stability of bcl-2 mRNA in a cell specific fashion. Previous studies have demonstrated that multiple proteins interact with bcl-2 mRNA in HL-60 (human leukaemia-60) cells, potentially contributing to the overexpression of Bcl-2 protein. Treatment of HL-60 cells with taxol or okadaic acid has been shown to induce destabilization of bcl-2 mRNA, which was associated with decreased binding of trans-acting factors to bcl-2 mRNA. Nucleolin has been identified as one of the bcl-2 mRNA-binding proteins [Sengupta, Bandyopadhyay, Fernandes and Spicer (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 10855-10863]. In an effort to identify additional bcl-2 mRNA-binding proteins, two polypeptides of approx. 45 kDa and 60 kDa were isolated from HL-60 cells by ARE(bcl-2) (transcripts that contain bcl-2 AREs) RNA affinity chromatography. These proteins were identified as the human proliferation associated protein, Ebp1, and human DRBP76 (double stranded RNA-binding protein 76) respectively, by MALDI (matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization)-MS. RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that recombinant Ebp1 binds to ARE(bcl-2) RNA but not to the group 1 ARE present in GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor) mRNA in vitro. Antibody supershift assays demonstrated that Ebp1 is present in protein-ARE(bcl-2) RNA complexes formed with cytosolic HL-60 extracts. The interaction of Ebp1 with bcl-2 mRNA in HL-60 cells was also demonstrated by RNA co-immunoprecipitation assays. This interaction was not detected in extracts of taxol-treated HL-60 cells. Immunoprecipitation assays further revealed that Ebp1 co-precipitates with nucleolin from HL-60 cytoplasmic extracts. The observation that co-precipitation was decreased when extracts were treated with RNase suggests that Ebp1 and nucleolin are present in the same bcl-2 mRNP (messenger ribonucleoprotein particle) complexes. RNA-decay assays further demonstrated that Ebp1 decreased the rate of decay of beta-globin-ARE(bcl-2) transcripts in HL-60 cell extracts. Collectively, these results indicate a novel function for Ebp1 in contributing to the regulation of bcl-2 expression in HL-60 cells.