The ETS family member GABPa mediates the development of castrate-resistant prostate cancer (ChIP-Seq). Homo sapiens

In prostate cancer, the androgen receptor (AR) is a key transcription factor at all disease stages. We recently showed that during progression to castrate-resistant prostate cancer the AR acquires the ability to bind to a distinct set of genomic sites in tissue samples and that some of the genes that are regulated by the AR in these conditions correlate with poor prognosis. Based on this work we hypothesised that the AR is reprogrammed through interactions with other transcription factors. In the present study we show that GABPá, an ETS transcription factor which is upregulated in CRPC, is an AR-interacting transcription factor. Ectopic expression of GABPA in prostate cancer cell-lines enables them to acquire some of the molecular and cellular characteristics of CRPC tissues as well as more aggressive growth phenotypes. Overall design: VCaP prostate cancer cells and Jurkat lymphoma cells were studied for the ETS factors ERG and GABPa binding sites. Each sample was compared to its input.