Advanced prostate cancer is an incurable and terminal disease which is characterized by metastasis and castration resistance. The mechanisms of progression to this advanced state are largely unknown. Our long term goal is to identify and characterize pathways which cause this lethal form of prostate cancer. We believe that novel discoveries in this focused area will have significantly impact on the prognosis and treatment of prostate cancer. MicroRNAs are a new class of regulatory molecules which control cellular pathways through post-transcriptional mechanisms. We have identified miR-21 as an Androgen-Receptor-regulated and oncogenic microRNA which is elevated in human prostate cancer. Importantly, miR-21 is sufficient to drive castration resistant tumor growth. In light of these discoveries, and the existing knowledge of miR-21 in other malignancies, we hypothesize that the miR-21 gene locus contributes to the development of advanced prostate cancer. The overall objective of this proposal are to (i) characterize the mechanisms of elevated miR-21 gene expression in human prostate cancer, (ii) to elucidate the pathways utilized by the miR-21 gene locus to promote cancer progression, and to compare miR-21 gene copy number and expression between human prostate cancers which have either been cured by primary therapy or recurred, progressed to metastasis, or castration resistance.

Public Health Relevance

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a health problem of major significance in the United States. PCa strikes over 180,000 American men each year and accounts for approximately 10% of male cancer related deaths1. Despite an escalating research effort, there have been little to no advances in the treatment of metastatic and Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC). Moreover, approximately 1/3rd of mean will recur following primary therapy2. Nonetheless, many men diagnosed with PCa will never develop the lethal or even symptomatic form of the disease within their lifetime3. Therefore, there are two major deficiencies in the current management of PCa: (1) Systemic Therapy - the lack of a successful therapy for CRPC and (2) Prognosis - the inability to consistently predict which cancers will progress. This grant application addresses these deficiencies by proposing studies of a novel pathway in CRPC and correlating genes in this pathway with disease recurrence and progression.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA143299-04
Application #
8463407
Study Section
Tumor Cell Biology Study Section (TCB)
Program Officer
Jhappan, Chamelli
Project Start
2010-07-01
Project End
2015-04-30
Budget Start
2013-05-01
Budget End
2014-04-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$310,286
Indirect Cost
$121,087
Name
Johns Hopkins University
Department
Urology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
001910777
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21218
Martino, Thiago; Kudrolli, Tarana A; Kumar, Binod et al. (2018) The orally active pterocarpanquinone LQB-118 exhibits cytotoxicity in prostate cancer cell and tumor models through cellular redox stress. Prostate 78:140-151
Zennami, Kenji; Choi, Su Mi; Liao, Ross et al. (2018) PDCD4 Is an Androgen-Repressed Tumor Suppressor that Regulates Prostate Cancer Growth and Castration Resistance. Mol Cancer Res :
Peskoe, Sarah B; Barber, John R; Zheng, Qizhi et al. (2017) Differential long-term stability of microRNAs and RNU6B snRNA in 12-20 year old archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens. BMC Cancer 17:32
Kumar, Binod; Lupold, Shawn E (2016) MicroRNA expression and function in prostate cancer: a review of current knowledge and opportunities for discovery. Asian J Androl 18:559-67
Kumar, Binod; Khaleghzadegan, Salar; Mears, Brian et al. (2016) Identification of miR-30b-3p and miR-30d-5p as direct regulators of androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer by complementary functional microRNA library screening. Oncotarget 7:72593-72607
Hatano, Koji; Kumar, Binod; Zhang, Yonggang et al. (2015) A functional screen identifies miRNAs that inhibit DNA repair and sensitize prostate cancer cells to ionizing radiation. Nucleic Acids Res 43:4075-86
Terada, Naoki; Shiraishi, Takumi; Zeng, Yu et al. (2014) Correlation of Sprouty1 and Jagged1 with aggressive prostate cancer cells with different sensitivities to androgen deprivation. J Cell Biochem 115:1505-15
Zheng, Qizhi; Peskoe, Sarah B; Ribas, Judit et al. (2014) Investigation of miR-21, miR-141, and miR-221 expression levels in prostate adenocarcinoma for associated risk of recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Prostate 74:1655-62
Ribas, Judit; Ni, Xiaohua; Castanares, Mark et al. (2012) A novel source for miR-21 expression through the alternative polyadenylation of VMP1 gene transcripts. Nucleic Acids Res 40:6821-33
Ni, X; Castanares, M; Mukherjee, A et al. (2011) Nucleic acid aptamers: clinical applications and promising new horizons. Curr Med Chem 18:4206-14

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