MED1 mediates androgen receptor splice variant induced gene expression in the absence of ligand

Abstract

The appearance of constitutively active androgen receptor splice variants (AR-Vs) has been proposed as one of the causes of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, the underlying mechanism of AR-Vs in CRPC transcriptional regulation has not been defined. A distinct transcriptome enriched with cell cycle genes, e.g. UBE2C, has been associated with AR-Vs, which indicates the possibility of an altered transcriptional mechanism when compared to full-length wild-type AR (AR^fl). Importantly, a recent study reported the critical role of p-MED1 in enhancing UBE2C expression through a locus looping pattern, which only occurs in CRPC but not in androgen-dependent prostate cancer (ADPC). To investigate the potential correlation between AR-V and MED1, in the present study we performed protein co-immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and cell proliferation assays and found that MED1 is necessary for AR^v567es induced UBE2C up-regulation and subsequent prostate cancer cell growth. Furthermore, p-MED1 is bound to AR^v567es independent of full-length AR; p-MED1 has higher recruitment to UBE2C promoter and enhancer regions in the presence of AR^v567es. Our data indicate that p-MED1 serves as a key mediator in AR^v567es induced gene expression and suggests a mechanism by which AR-Vs promote the development and progression of CRPC.