A Hierarchical Network of Transcription Factors Governs Androgen Receptor-Dependent Prostate Cancer Growth

• DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2007.05.041
• Publication Date: 2007-08-03T11:18:26Z
• Authors: Qianben Wang; Wei Li; X. Shirley Liu; Jason S. Carroll; Olli A. Jänne; Erika Krasnickas ...; Arul M. Chinnaiyan; Kenneth J. Pienta; Myles Brown
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; Binding Sites; Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent; Transcription, Genetic; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prostatic Neoplasms; Cell Biology; Flow Cytometry; Response Elements; 3. Good health; Histones; 03 medical and health sciences; Receptors, Androgen; Cell Line, Tumor; Humans; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Molecular Biology; Cell Proliferation; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Transcription Factors

Androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that plays a key role in prostate cancer. Little is known about the nature of AR cis-regulatory sites in the human genome. We have mapped the AR binding regions on two chromosomes in human prostate cancer cells by combining chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) with tiled oligonucleotide microarrays. We find that the majority of AR binding regions contain noncanonical AR-responsive elements (AREs). Importantly, we identify a noncanonical ARE as a cis-regulatory target of AR action in TMPRSS2, a gene fused to ETS transcription factors in the majority of prostate cancers. In addition, through the presence of enriched DNA-binding motifs, we find other transcription factors including GATA2 and Oct1 that cooperate in mediating the androgen response. These collaborating factors, together with AR, form a regulatory hierarchy that governs androgen-dependent gene expression and prostate cancer growth and offer potential new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.