Suppression of prostate tumor cell survival by antisense oligonucleotide-mediated inhibition of AR-V7 mRNA synthesis

Oncogene. 2019 May;38(19):3696-3709. doi: 10.1038/s41388-019-0696-7. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Abstract

One of the mechanisms by which advanced prostate cancer develops resistance to androgen deprivation therapy is the elevated expression of C-terminally truncated androgen receptor (AR) variants. These variants, such as AR-V7, originate from aberrant splicing of the AR pre-mRNA and the inclusion of a cryptic exon containing a premature stop codon in the mRNA. The resulting loss of the ligand-binding domain allows AR-V7 to act as a constitutively active transcription factor. Here, we designed two antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) directed against cryptic splicing signals within the AR pre-mRNA. These two AONs, AON-ISE and AON-ESE, demonstrated high efficiency in silencing AR-V7 splicing without affecting full-length AR expression. The subsequent downregulation of AR-V7-target gene UBE2C was accompanied by inhibition of androgen-independent cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)-derived cell line models 22Rv1, DuCaP, and VCaP. Our results show that splicing-directed AONs can efficiently prevent expression of AR-V7, providing an attractive new therapeutic option for the treatment of CRPC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Apoptosis / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / genetics
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense / pharmacology*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant / drug therapy*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant / genetics*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant / pathology
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / biosynthesis
  • Receptors, Androgen / genetics*
  • Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes / genetics

Substances

  • AR protein, human
  • BUB1B protein, human
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Receptors, Androgen
  • UBE2C protein, human
  • Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases