Expression and functional role of orphan receptor GPR158 in prostate cancer growth and progression

PLoS One. 2015 Feb 18;10(2):e0117758. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117758. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related mortality, after lung cancer, in men from developed countries. In its early stages, primary tumor growth is dependent on androgens, thus generally can be controlled by androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Eventually however, the disease progresses to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), a lethal form in need of more effective treatments. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise a large clan of cell surface proteins that have been implicated as therapeutic targets in PCa growth and progression. The findings reported here provide intriguing evidence of a role for the newly characterized glutamate family member GPR158 in PCa growth and progression. We found that GPR158 promotes PCa cell proliferation independent of androgen receptor (AR) functionality and that this requires its localization in the nucleus of the cell. This suggests that GPR158 acts by mechanisms different from other GPCRs. GPR158 expression is stimulated by androgens and GPR158 stimulates AR expression, implying a potential to sensitize tumors to low androgen conditions during ADT via a positive feedback loop. Further, we found GPR158 expression correlates with a neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation phenotype and promotes anchorage-independent colony formation implying a role for GPR158 in therapeutic progression and tumor formation. GPR158 expression was increased at the invading front of prostate tumors that formed in the genetically defined conditional Pten knockout mouse model, and co-localized with elevated AR expression in the cell nucleus. Kaplan-Meier analysis on a dataset from the Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer genome portal showed that increased GPR158 expression in tumors is associated with lower disease-free survival. Our findings strongly suggest that pharmaceuticals targeting GPR158 activities could represent a novel and innovative approach to the prevention and management of CRPC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Active Transport, Cell Nucleus / drug effects
  • Androgens / pharmacology
  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Nucleus / drug effects
  • Cell Nucleus / metabolism
  • Disease Progression*
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic* / drug effects
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Neuroendocrine Cells / drug effects
  • Neuroendocrine Cells / pathology
  • PTEN Phosphohydrolase / deficiency
  • PTEN Phosphohydrolase / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Receptors, Androgen / metabolism
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / genetics*
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism*

Substances

  • Androgens
  • GPR158 protein, mouse
  • Receptors, Androgen
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • PTEN Phosphohydrolase