Epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN) and prostate cancer: lessons learned from the ARCaP model

Daqing Wu; Adeboye O Osunkoya; Omer Kucuk

Epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN) and prostate cancer: lessons learned from the ARCaP model

Am J Clin Exp Urol. 2021 Aug 25;9(4):264-276. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Daqing Wu^{1

2

3}, Adeboye O Osunkoya^{2

4

5}, Omer Kucuk^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development and Department of Biological Sciences, Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA, USA.
² Department of Urology, Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA, USA.
³ MetCure Therapeutics LLC Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁴ Department of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA.
⁶ Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA, USA.

PMID: 34541025
PMCID: PMC8446762

Abstract

Confucius said, "Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job". Among his many groundbreaking achievements, Dr. Leland W. K. Chung established several widely used prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines, including C4-2, C4-2B, and ARCaP. These cellular models have been pivotal tools to enhance our understanding of the biology of PCa progression and assist in the discovery of new strategies to treat metastatic, castration-resistant PCa. Recent studies in the ARCaP PCa progression model uncovered epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN), an actin-binding protein with an indispensable role in the maintenance of epithelial structures, as a negative regulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Clinical evidence further supports the potential role of EPLIN in controlling metastasis in PCa and other solid tumors. In this article, we review the current understanding of the biology of EPLIN and the ARCaP model in the discovery of new agents for the prevention and treatment of PCa metastasis.

Keywords: EMT; EPLIN; PCa; chemoresistance; metastasis.

Publication types

Review