Protein L-isoaspartate (D-aspartate) O-methyltransferase (PCMT1) is a repair enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isomerized aspartic acid (iso-Asp) residues into their normal structure, thereby restoring the configuration and function of proteins. Studies have shown that PCMT1 is overexpressed in several tumors and affects patients' prognosis. However, there are few reports on the role of PCMT1 in prostate cancer (PCa). In the present research, with the assistance of The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) database, we found that PCMT1 was overexpressed in PCa tissues. The results of quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry staining also showed that PCMT1 expression was significantly increased in PCa tissues and cell lines. In PCa clinical samples, PCMT1 expression was closely related to Gleason score, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and bone metastasis. The experiments of overexpression and knockdown of PCMT1 in vitro or in vivo showed that PCMT1 can significantly promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of PCa cells, inhibit cell apoptosis, and promote the growth of PCa. We furthermore confirmed that PCMT1 regulated the migration, invasion and apoptosis of PCa cells by modulating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT kinase/glycogen-synthase kinase-3β (PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β) signaling pathway. Collectively, PCMT1 plays a cancer-facilitative role in PCa by promoting the proliferation, migration and invasion of PCa cells, and inhibiting apoptosis. Therefore, PCMT1 is considered to represent a novel target for treating PCa.
Keywords: PCMT1; PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β signaling pathway; prostate cancer.