Gene expression profiling of LNCaP cells following shRNA-mediated knockdown of TMEFF2 and growth in presence and absence of dihydrotestosterone

TMEFF2 is an androgen regulated transmembrane protein mainly restricted to brain and prostate, that functions as a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer (PCa). Studies using publically available prostate cancer (PCa) datasets, reveal changes in the expression of TMEFF2 with disease stage, supporting an important role of TMEFF2 in this disease. However, the role of TMEFF2 in the biology and pathogenesis of PCa is still unknown. Using a transgenic TMEFF2 mouse, we have demonstrated that TMEFF2 overexpression modulates prostate branching morphogenesis, and androgen regulated process, during prostate regeneration. We hypothesized that TMEFF2 may have a regulatory function within androgen signaling that could explain its role in PCa. To better understand its function in androgen signaling and PCa, we compared the transcriptome of LNCaP prostate cancer cells transduced with control shRNA and shRNA targeting TMEFF2 in the presence and absence of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The results indicated that globally, there is a significant interaction between the effects of DHT and shTMEFF2. Of the 519 genes with significant gene expression changes after DHT treatment of Scramble control cells, 208 (40%) had significant differential expression when the shTMEFF2 +DHT group was compared to Scramble +DHT group, including numerous androgen activated and androgen repressed genes.