Androgen Receptor SUMOylation Research Articles

Abstract PO5-05-09: Testing AI-Predicted Protein Motifs that Direct Constitutive Genomic AR Activity in Endocrine Resistant Breast Cancer

Abstract Testing AI-Predicted Protein Motifs that Direct Constitutive Genomic AR Activity in Endocrine-Resistant Breast Cancer Ashfia F. Khan 1,2, Anthony S. Peidl 1,2, Shaymaa Bahnassy 3, Henry Vo2, Micah B. Castillo 2, Sarah K Herzog4,5, Suzanne AW Fuqua4,6, Preethi Gunaratne 2, Xiaolian Gao 2, Subash C. Pakhrin7, Tasneem Bawa-Khalfe1,2 1 Center for Nuclear Receptors & Cell Signaling, University of Houston, Houston, TX 2 Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 3 Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 4 Lester & Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 5 Program in Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 6 Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 7 Department of Computer Science & Engineering Technology, University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, TX Background: Endocrine therapy (ET) remains the first-line treatment for hormone-receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer (BCa). Approximately 15–20% of HR+ BCa are intrinsically resistant to ET, and 30–40% of patients acquire resistance. Resistance to ET (ET-R) supports cancer progression with reduced disease-free survival and greater incidence of metastatic disease. Hence, therapeutic strategies for ET-R HR+ BCa remain an overarching challenge. The androgen receptor (AR) is emerging as an attractive alternative target for BCa subtypes, and elevated AR levels drive HR+ BCa progression. Targeting AR in HR+ BCa is proving difficult with preclinical studies showing conflicting results for AR antagonists. Yet clinical trials with several AR-targeting drugs are ongoing. Our recent report highlights a unique constitutively active modified AR population that drives HR+ BCa metastatic properties and is insensitive to AR inhibitors. Our current objectives are to 1) use a novel machine-learning model to predict AR modifications and 2) establish a strategy to identify patients with high modified AR levels. Methods: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tool and mid-throughput microfluidic peptide array technology were used to map modification domains on AR. SUMO post-translational modification of AR (SUMO-AR) was eliminated in HR+ BCa using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. RNA-seq was employed to identify a unique gene signature for SUMO-AR, and comparative bioinformatic analysis stratified patients with high versus low SUMO-AR. Results: A novel deep-learning AI platform SumoPred-PLM is trained to identify consensus, non-consensus, and SUMO2/3-specific motifs on AR. We verified SUMO2/3-specific sites on AR with a mid-throughput microfluidic peptide array. The identified SUMO2/3-acceptor site of AR is important for HR+ BCa cell pathophysiology; loss of this SUMO2/3-acceptor site impacts endogenous AR SUMOylation, cell morphology, and proliferation/apoptosis. Using both high and low SUMO-AR BCa lines, a unique SUMO-AR gene profile was established. Our SUMO-AR gene signature identifies HR+ BCa patients with greater susceptibility to metastatic progression. Conclusion: Our studies present a unique pipeline that incorporates deep-learning AI technology to identify vulnerable motifs in AR for future drug discovery. Drug screens are currently ongoing. In addition, we establish a SUMO-AR gene signature that stratifies HR+ BCa patients with high/low SUMO-AR and predicts disease progression. We expect the results could be utilized to identify responders to AR inhibitors in ongoing clinical trials. Citation Format: Ashfia Khan, Anthony Peidl, Shaymaa Bahnassy, Henry Vo, Micah Castillo, Sarah Herzog, Suzanne Fuqua, Preethi Gunaratne, Xiaolian Gao, Subash Pakhrin, Tasneem Bawa-Khalfe. Testing AI-Predicted Protein Motifs that Direct Constitutive Genomic AR Activity in Endocrine Resistant Breast Cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO5-05-09.

SUMO3 modification by PIAS1 modulates androgen receptor cellular distribution and stability

BackgroundAbnormal reactivation of androgen receptor (AR) signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) mainly results from overexpression and down-regulation of AR. Sumoylation of AR can influence its function. However, regulation of AR sumoylation by SUMO E3 ligases PIASs to modify AR distribution and stability are not well understood.MethodsWe assessed the potential effect of SUMO3 modification on AR intracellular localization by immunostaining in AR-negative prostate cancer DU145 cells, and detected the effect of PIAS1/SUMO3 overexpression on AR sumoylation related degradation. Then we characterized AR sumoylation sites involved modified by SUMO3, and the key residue of PIAS1 involved in itself sumoylation and further mediated AR sumoylation (sumo3-conjugated), translocation and degradation. Finally we detected the recognition of PIAS1 (sumoylation ligase) to MDM2, a ubiquin ligase mediated AR degradation.ResultsWe demonstrate that SUMO E3 ligase PIAS1, along with SUMO3, mediates AR cytosolic translocation and subsequent degradation via a ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Although AR sumoylation occurs prior to ubiquitination, the SUMO-acceptor lysine 386 on AR, together with ubiquitin-acceptor lysine 845, contribute to PIAS1/SUMO3-induced AR nuclear export, ubiquitination and subsequent degradation. Moreover, PIAS1 itself is modified by SUMO3 overexpression, and mutation of SUMO-acceptor lysine 117 on PIAS1 can impair AR cytoplasmic distribution, demonstrating the essential role of sumoylated PIAS1 in AR translocation. We further determine that sumoylated PIAS1 interacts with AR lysine 386 and 845 to form a binary complex. Consistent with the effect on AR distribution, SUMO3 modification of PIAS1 is also required for AR ubiquitination and degradation by recruiting ubiquitin E3 ligase MDM2.ConclusionTaken together, SUMO3 modification of PIAS1 modulates AR cellular distribution and stability. Our study provided the evidence the crosstalk between AR sumoylation and ubquitination mediated by PIAS1 and SUMO3.

A molecule inducing androgen receptor degradation and selectively targeting prostate cancer cells

Aberrant androgen signaling drives prostate cancer and is targeted by drugs that diminish androgen production or impede androgen-androgen receptor (AR) interaction. Clinical resistance arises from AR overexpression or ligand-independent constitutive activation, suggesting that complete AR elimination could be a novel therapeutic strategy in prostate cancers. IRC117539 is a new molecule that targets AR for proteasomal degradation. Exposure to IRC117539 promotes AR sumoylation and ubiquitination, reminiscent of therapy-induced PML/RARA degradation in acute promyelocytic leukemia. Critically, ex vivo, IRC117539-mediated AR degradation induces prostate cancer cell viability loss by inhibiting AR signaling, even in androgen-insensitive cells. This approach may be beneficial for castration-resistant prostate cancer, which remains a clinical issue. In xenograft models, IRC117539 is as potent as enzalutamide in impeding growth, albeit less efficient than expected from ex vivo studies. Unexpectedly, IRC117539 also behaves as a weak proteasome inhibitor, likely explaining its suboptimal efficacy in vivo. Our studies highlight the feasibility of AR targeting for degradation and off-target effects' importance in modulating drug activity in vivo.

Lack of androgen receptor SUMOylation results in male infertility due to epididymal dysfunction

Androgen receptor (AR) is regulated by SUMOylation at its transactivation domain. In vitro, the SUMOylation is linked to transcriptional repression and/or target gene-selective regulation. Here, we generated a mouse model (ArKI) in which the conserved SUMO acceptor lysines of AR are permanently abolished (ArK381R, K500R). ArKI males develop normally, without apparent defects in their systemic androgen action in reproductive tissues. However, the ArKI males are infertile. Their spermatogenesis appears unaffected, but their epididymal sperm maturation is defective, shown by severely compromised motility and fertilization capacity of the sperm. Fittingly, their epididymal AR chromatin-binding and gene expression associated with sperm maturation and function are misregulated. AR is SUMOylated in the wild-type epididymis but not in the testis, which could explain the tissue-specific response to the lack of AR SUMOylation. Our studies thus indicate that epididymal AR SUMOylation is essential for the post-testicular sperm maturation and normal reproductive capability of male mice.

Androgen receptor SUMOylation regulates bone mass in male mice.

The crucial effects of androgens on the male skeleton are at least partly mediated via the androgen receptor (AR). In addition to hormone binding, the AR activity is regulated by post-translational modifications, including SUMOylation. SUMOylation is a reversible modification in which Small Ubiquitin-related MOdifier proteins (SUMOs) are attached to the AR and thereby regulate the activity of the AR and change its interactions with other proteins. To elucidate the importance of SUMOylation of AR for male bone metabolism, we used a mouse model devoid of the two AR SUMOylation sites (ARSUM-; K381R and K500R are substituted). Six-month-old male ARSUM- mice displayed significantly reduced trabecular bone volume fraction in the distal metaphyseal region of femur compared with wild type (WT) mice (BV/TV, -19.1 ± 4.9%, P < 0.05). The number of osteoblasts per bone perimeter was substantially reduced (-60.5 ± 7.2%, P < 0.001) while no significant effect was observed on the number of osteoclasts in the trabecular bone of male ARSUM- mice. Dynamic histomorphometric analysis of trabecular bone revealed a reduced bone formation rate (-32.6 ± 7.4%, P < 0.05) as a result of reduced mineralizing surface per bone surface in ARSUM- mice compared with WT mice (-24.3 ± 3.6%, P < 0.001). Furthermore, cortical bone thickness in the diaphyseal region of femur was reduced in male ARSUM- mice compared with WT mice (-7.3 ± 2.0%, P < 0.05). In conclusion, mice devoid of AR SUMOylation have reduced trabecular bone mass as a result of reduced bone formation. We propose that therapies enhancing AR SUMOylation might result in bone-specific anabolic effects with minimal adverse effects in other tissues.

Abstract P3-04-21: Androgen receptor in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer is affected by SUMO

Abstract Resistance to tamoxifen is a major problem in treating women with estrogen receptor-positive (ERa+) breast cancer (BCa). Previous studies report elevated levels of the androgen receptor (AR) in tamoxifen-resistant (TamR) human mammary tumors. Inversely, in vitro overexpression of AR in ERa+-MCF-7 cells potentiates growth in the presence of tamoxifen. AR is a target for small ubiquitin like modifiers (SUMO) posttranslational modification (PTM). Prostate cancer (PCa) studies, show that SUMO-PTMs can have diverse effects on AR transcriptional activity, by modifying the AR itself or its co-regulators. SUMOylation regulates the AR's interaction with chromatin and modulates its function in a gene selective manner. Although SUMO-1 inhibited the AR transcriptional activity, SUMO-3 strongly enhanced the transactivation of AR in LNCaP cells but negatively affected the AR transcriptional activity in primary prostate epithelial cells. On the other hand, SUMO modifications and its subsequent effects on the AR in breast tumors and in particular TamR-BCa is unknown. Our objective is to understand how SUMO-PTMs affect AR activity in TamR-BCa. Others report that high Ubc9, a SUMO E2 conjugating enzyme, correlates with with aggressive phenotypes of BCa and that PIAS3, a SUMO E3 ligase, expression increases in breast tumors. Consistently, we now report that global SUMO2/3-conjugation is enhanced while the full-length SUMO protease SENP7 (SENP7L) is reduced in TamR-BCa cells. Collectively, these observations would suggest reduced SUMO dynamics in TamR-BCa as compared to tamoxifen-sensitive (TamS) BCa cells. Unlike PCa cells that favor unmodified over SUMOylated AR, we report that AR SUMOylation is potentiated in TamR-BCa cells. Functionally, SUMOylation of AR augments its chromatin binding and enhances its transcriptional activity. Our results suggest that the level of unmodified to SUMOylated AR is dramatically altered with onset of TamR and drives a functionally distinct population of AR in TamR versus TamS BCa. Consistently these biochemical reactions that define protein diversity could have a major impact on drug resistance in BCa. Citation Format: Bahnassy S, Kumar S, Ren J, Frutiz G, Karami S, Bawa-Khalfe T. Androgen receptor in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer is affected by SUMO [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-04-21.

Fighting polyglutamine disease by wrestling with SUMO.

Spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an X-linked disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons, muscle atrophy, and progressive weakness. It is caused by a polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in the androgen receptor (AR), a transcription factor that is activated upon hormone binding. The polyQ expansion in AR causes it to form intracellular aggregates and impairs transcriptional activity. Intriguingly, SUMOylation (where SUMO indicates small ubiquitin-like modifier) of AR inhibits its transcriptional activity and reduces aggregation of the polyQ form of this protein, but it is unclear whether SUMOylation plays a pathogenic or protective role in SBMA. In this issue of the JCI, Chua et al. address this question by generating knockin mice in which the native AR is replaced by either a polyQ AR or a polyQ AR lacking the two lysine residues that are SUMOylated. The results from this study demonstrate that inhibiting SUMOylation of polyQ AR restores much of its transcriptional activity and prevents many (but not all) SBMA-associated symptoms in this mouse model.

Disrupting SUMOylation enhances transcriptional function and ameliorates polyglutamine androgen receptor-mediated disease.

Expansion of the polyglutamine (polyQ) tract within the androgen receptor (AR) causes neuromuscular degeneration in individuals with spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). PolyQ AR has diminished transcriptional function and exhibits ligand-dependent proteotoxicity, features that have both been implicated in SBMA; however, the extent to which altered AR transcriptional function contributes to pathogenesis remains controversial. Here, we sought to dissociate effects of diminished AR function from polyQ-mediated proteotoxicity by enhancing the transcriptional activity of polyQ AR. To accomplish this, we bypassed the inhibitory effect of AR SUMOylation (where SUMO indicates small ubiquitin-like modifier) by mutating conserved lysines in the polyQ AR that are sites of SUMOylation. We determined that replacement of these residues by arginine enhances polyQ AR activity as a hormone-dependent transcriptional regulator. In a murine model, disruption of polyQ AR SUMOylation rescued exercise endurance and type I muscle fiber atrophy; it also prolonged survival. These changes occurred without overt alterations in polyQ AR expression or aggregation, revealing the favorable trophic support exerted by the ligand-activated receptor. Our findings demonstrate beneficial effects of enhancing the transcriptional function of the ligand-activated polyQ AR and indicate that the SUMOylation pathway may be a potential target for therapeutic intervention in SBMA.

SUMO-specific protease 1 modulates cadmium-augmented transcriptional activity of androgen receptor (AR) by reversing AR SUMOylation

Cadmium is a potential prostate carcinogen and can mimic the effects of androgen by a mechanism that involves the hormone-binding domain of the androgen receptor (AR), which is a key transcriptional factor in prostate carcinogenesis. We focused on transcriptional activity of AR to investigate the toxicity of cadmium exposure on human prostate cell lines. Cadmium increased the proliferative index of LNCaP and the proliferative effect was obstructed significantly by AR blocking agent. In luciferase assay, cadmium activated the transcriptional activity of AR in 293T cells co-transfected with wild-type AR and an ARE (AR response elements)-luciferase reporter gene. Cadmium also increased expression of PSA, a downstream gene of AR, whereas the metal had no significant effect on AR amount. AR is regulated by multiple posttranslational modifications including SUMOylation. SUMOylated AR shows a lower transcriptional activity. SUMO-specific protease 1 (SENP1) decreases AR SUMOylation by deconjugating AR-SUMO covalent bond. We detected that cadmium increased the amount of SENP1 in a dose and time dependent manner. Knocking down of SENP1 by RNAi led to decrease of PSA expression and transcriptional activity of AR in luciferase assay. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) results showed that SUMOylation level of AR was decreased after cadmium treatment. In conclusion, our results indicated that cadmium-induced SENP1 enhanced AR transcriptional activity by decreasing AR SUMOylation.

SUMOylation modulates the transcriptional activity of androgen receptor in a target gene and pathway selective manner.

Androgen receptor (AR) plays an important regulatory role in prostate cancer. AR's transcriptional activity is regulated by androgenic ligands, but also by post-translational modifications, such as SUMOylation. To study the role of AR SUMOylation in genuine chromatin environment, we compared androgen-regulated gene expression and AR chromatin occupancy in PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines stably expressing wild-type (wt) or doubly SUMOylation site-mutated AR (AR-K386R,K520R). Our genome-wide gene expression analyses reveal that the SUMOylation modulates the AR function in a target gene and pathway selective manner. The transcripts that are differentially regulated by androgen and SUMOylation are linked to cellular movement, cell death, cellular proliferation, cellular development and cell cycle. Fittingly, SUMOylation mutant AR cells proliferate faster and are more sensitive to apoptosis. Moreover, ChIP-seq analyses show that the SUMOylation can modulate the chromatin occupancy of AR on many loci in a fashion that parallels their differential androgen-regulated expression. De novo motif analyses reveal that FOXA1, C/EBP and AP-1 motifs are differentially enriched at the wtAR- and the AR-K386R,K520R-preferred genomic binding positions. Taken together, our data indicate that SUMOylation does not simply repress the AR activity, but it regulates AR's interaction with the chromatin and the receptor's target gene selection.

Dynamic SUMOylation Is Linked to the Activity Cycles of Androgen Receptor in the Cell Nucleus

Despite of the progress in the molecular etiology of prostate cancer, the androgen receptor (AR) remains the major druggable target for the advanced disease. In addition to hormonal ligands, AR activity is regulated by posttranslational modifications. Here, we show that androgen induces SUMO-2 and SUMO-3 (SUMO-2/3) modification (SUMOylation) of the endogenous AR in prostate cancer cells, which is also reflected in the chromatin-bound receptor. Although only a small percentage of AR is SUMOylated at the steady state, AR SUMOylation sites have an impact on the receptor's stability, intranuclear mobility, and chromatin interactions and on expression of its target genes. Interestingly, short-term proteotoxic and cell stress, such as hyperthermia, that detaches the AR from the chromatin triggers accumulation of the SUMO-2/3-modified AR pool which concentrates into the nuclear matrix compartment. Alleviation of the stress allows rapid reversal of the SUMO-2/3 modifications and the AR to return to the chromatin. In sum, these results suggest that the androgen-induced SUMOylation is linked to the activity cycles of the holo-AR in the nucleus and chromatin binding, whereas the stress-induced SUMO-2/3 modifications sustain the solubility of the AR and protect it from proteotoxic insults in the nucleus.

The in Vivo Role of Androgen Receptor SUMOylation as Revealed by Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and Prostate Cancer Mutations Targeting the Proline/Glycine Residues of Synergy Control Motifs

The androgen receptor (AR) mediates the effects of male sexual hormones on development and physiology. Alterations in AR function are central to reproductive disorders, prostate cancer, and Kennedy disease. AR activity is influenced by post-translational modifications, but their role in AR-based diseases is poorly understood. Conjugation by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins at two synergy control (SC) motifs in AR exerts a promoter context-dependent inhibitory role. SC motifs are composed of a four-amino acid core that is often preceded and/or followed by nearby proline or glycine residues. The function of these flanking residues, however, has not been examined directly. Remarkably, several AR mutations associated with oligospermia and androgen insensitivity syndrome map to Pro-390, the conserved proline downstream of the first SC motif in AR. Similarly, mutations at Gly-524, downstream of the second SC motif, were recovered in recurrent prostate cancer samples. We now provide evidence that these clinically isolated substitutions lead to a partial loss of SC motif function and AR SUMOylation that affects multiple endogenous genes. Consistent with a structural role as terminators of secondary structure elements, substitution of Pro-390 by Gly fully supports both SC motif function and SUMOylation. As predicted from the functional properties of SC motifs, the clinically isolated mutations preferentially enhance transcription driven by genomic regions harboring multiple AR binding sites. The data support the view that alterations in AR SUMOylation play significant roles in AR-based diseases and offer novel SUMO-based therapeutic opportunities.

Post-Translational Modifications of Nuclear Receptors and Human Disease

Nuclear receptors (NR) impact a myriad of physiological processes including homeostasis, reproduction, development, and metabolism. NRs are regulated by post-translational modifications (PTM) that markedly impact receptor function. Recent studies have identified NR PTMs that are involved in the onset and progression of human diseases, including cancer. The majority of evidence linking NR PTMs with disease has been demonstrated for phosphorylation, acetylation and sumoylation of androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor α (ERα), glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ). Phosphorylation of AR has been associated with hormone refractory prostate cancer and decreased disease-specific survival. AR acetylation and sumoylation increased growth of prostate cancer tumor models. AR phosphorylation reduced the toxicity of the expanded polyglutamine AR in Kennedy’s Disease as a consequence of reduced ligand binding. A comprehensive evaluation of ERα phosphorylation in breast cancer revealed several sites associated with better clinical outcome to tamoxifen therapy, whereas other phosphorylation sites were associated with poorer clinical outcome. ERα acetylation and sumoylation may also have predictive value for breast cancer. GR phosphorylation and acetylation impact GR responsiveness to glucocorticoids that are used as anti-inflammatory drugs. PPARγ phosphorylation can regulate the balance between growth and differentiation in adipose tissue that is linked to obesity and insulin resistance. Sumoylation of PPARγ is linked to repression of inflammatory genes important in patients with inflammatory diseases. NR PTMs provide an additional measure of NR function that can be used as both biomarkers of disease progression, and predictive markers for patient response to NR-directed treatments.

Inhibition of androgen receptor activity by histone deacetylase 4 through receptor SUMOylation

The transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor is regulated by both ligand binding and posttranslational modifications including acetylation and SUMOylation. Histone deacetylases are known to catalyze the removal of acetyl groups from both histones and non-histone proteins. In the present study, we report that histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) binds to and inhibits the activity of the androgen receptor (AR). This inhibition was found to depend on the SUMOylation, instead of deacetylation, of the AR. Consistently, HDAC4 increases the level of AR SUMOylation in both whole cell and cell-free assay systems, raising the possibility that the deacetylase may act as an E3 ligase for AR SUMOylation. Knock down of HDAC4 increases the activity of endogenous AR and androgen induction of prostate specific antigen expression and prostate cancer cell growth, which is associated with decreased SUMOylation of the receptor. Overall, the studies identify HDAC4 as a positive regulator for AR SUMOylation, revealing a deacetylase-independent mechanism of histone deacetylase action in prostate cancer cells.

Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) Modification of the Androgen Receptor Attenuates Polyglutamine-mediated Aggregation

The neurodegenerative disorder spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy or Kennedy disease is caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion within the androgen receptor (AR) gene. The resulting expanded polyglutamine tract in the N-terminal region of the receptor renders AR prone to ligand-dependent misfolding and formation of oligomers and aggregates that are linked to neuronal toxicity. How AR misfolding is influenced by post-translational modifications, however, is poorly understood. AR is a target of SUMOylation, and this modification inhibits AR activity in a promoter context-dependent manner. SUMOylation is up-regulated in response to multiple forms of cellular stress and may therefore play an important cytoprotective role. Consistent with this view, we find that gratuitous enhancement of overall SUMOylation significantly reduced the formation of polyglutamine-expanded AR aggregates without affecting the levels of the receptor. Remarkably, this effect requires SUMOylation of AR itself because it depends on intact AR SUMOylation sites. Functional analyses, however, indicate that the protective effects of enhanced AR SUMOylation are not due to alterations in AR transcriptional activity because a branched protein structure in the appropriate context of the N-terminal region of AR is necessary to antagonize aggregation but not for inhibiting AR transactivation. Remarkably, small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) attenuates AR aggregation through a unique mechanism that does not depend on critical features essential for its interaction with canonical SUMO binding motifs. Our findings therefore reveal a novel function of SUMOylation and suggest that approaches that enhance AR SUMOylation may be of clinical use in polyglutamine expansion diseases.

SUMO-Specific Protease 1 (SENP1) Reverses the Hormone-Augmented SUMOylation of Androgen Receptor and Modulates Gene Responses in Prostate Cancer Cells

The acceptor sites for small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) are conserved in the N-terminal domains of several nuclear receptors. Here, we show that androgens induce rapid and dynamic conjugation of SUMO-1 to androgen receptor (AR). Nuclear import of AR is not sufficient for SUMOylation, because constitutively nuclear apo-ARs or antagonist-bound ARs are only very weakly modified by SUMO-1 in comparison with agonist-bound ARs. Of the SUMO-specific proteases (SENP)-1, -2, -3, -5, and -6, only SENP1 and SENP2 are efficient in cleaving AR-SUMO-1 conjugates in intact cells and in vitro. Both SENP1 and -2 are nuclear and found at sites proximal to AR. Their expression promotes AR-dependent transcription, but in a promoter-selective fashion. SENP1 and -2 stimulated the activity of holo-AR on compound androgen response element-containing promoters. The effects of SENP1 and -2 on AR-dependent transcription were dependent on catalytic activity and required intact SUMO acceptor sites in AR, indicating that their coactivating effects are mainly due to their direct isopeptidase activity on holo-AR. In prostate cancer cells, ectopic expression of SENP1, but not that of SENP2, increased the transcription activity of endogenous AR. Silencing of SENP1 attenuated the expression of several AR target genes and blunted androgen-stimulated growth of LNCaP cells. Our results indicate that SENP1 reverses the ligand-induced SUMOylation of AR and helps fine tune the cellular responses to androgens in a target promoter-selective manner.

Regulation of nuclear receptor and coactivator functions by the carboxyl terminus of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 9

Small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) is a protein moiety that is ligated to lysine residues in a variety of target proteins. The SUMO E2 enzyme ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 9 (Ubc9) is sufficient for substrate recognition and lysine modification of known SUMO targets. Previous studies have demonstrated that mutated Ubc9 that has lost its SUMO-ligating activity retains its enhancement on transactivation mediated by androgen receptor (AR). In contrast to the binding ability to Ubc9, the sumoylation of AR via the association of SUMO-1 and PIAS1 is able to repress AR-dependent transcription. In the present study, we present several lines of evidence to explain the role of over-expressed Ubc9 as a cofactor in the nuclear receptor and coactivator functions, including (i) activity that is independent of its ability to catalyze SUMO-1 conjugation, (ii) an insight into the protein–protein interaction motif in its eight C-terminal residues, (iii) selective coactivator function in nuclear receptor-relevant transactivation activities, and (iv) a non-trichostatin A-sensitive autonomous transcription repression domain in its far C-terminal region. Taken together, our data suggest that the both the protein–protein interaction through the Ubc9 C-terminus and its sumoylation-modifying activity provide the mechanism for regulating nuclear receptor functions.

Negative Modulation of Androgen Receptor Transcriptional Activity by Daxx

The transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor (AR) modulated by positive or negative regulators plays a critical role in controlling the growth and survival of prostate cancer cells. Although numerous positive regulators have been identified, negative regulators of AR are less well understood. We report here that Daxx functions as a negative AR coregulator through direct protein-protein interactions. Overexpression of Daxx suppressed AR-mediated promoter activity in COS-1 and LNCaP cells and AR-mediated prostate-specific antigen expression in LNCaP cells. Conversely, downregulation of endogenous Daxx expression by RNA interference enhances androgen-induced prostate-specific antigen expression in LNCaP cells. In vitro and in vivo interaction studies revealed that Daxx binds to both the amino-terminal and the DNA-binding domain of the AR. Daxx proteins interfere with the AR DNA-binding activity both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, sumoylation of AR at its amino-terminal domain is involved in Daxx interaction and trans-repression. Together, these findings not only provide a novel role of Daxx in controlling AR transactivation activity but also uncover the mechanism underlying sumoylation-dependent transcriptional repression of the AR.

HZimp10 is an androgen receptor co-activator and forms a complex with SUMO-1 at replication foci.

The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in male sexual development and in normal and malignant prostate cell growth and survival. It has been shown that transcriptional activation of AR is regulated through interaction with various co-factors. Here we identify a novel PIAS-like protein, hZimp10, as an AR-interacting protein. The transactivation domain (TAD) of AR and the central region of hZimp10 were found to be responsible for the interaction. A strong intrinsic transactivation domain was identified in the C-terminal, proline-rich region of hZimp10. Endogenous AR and hZimp10 proteins were co-stained in the nuclei of prostate epithelial cells from human tissue samples. In human prostate cancer cells, hZimp10 augmented the transcriptional activity of AR. Moreover, hZimp10 co-localized with AR and SUMO-1 at replication foci throughout S phase, and it was capable of enhancing sumoylation of AR in vivo. Studies using sumoylation deficient AR mutants suggested that the augmentation of AR activity by hZimp10 is dependent on the sumoylation of the receptor. Taken together, these data demonstrate that hZimp10 is a novel AR co-regulator.

PIAS1 and PIASxα Function as SUMO-E3 Ligases toward Androgen Receptor and Repress Androgen Receptor-dependent Transcription

The androgen receptor (AR) has been shown to be modified by SUMO-1, a ubiquitin-like protein. Recently we showed that PIAS family proteins function as SUMO-E3 ligases. Here we provide evidence that PIAS1 and PIASxalpha act as specific SUMO-E3 ligases for the AR. PIAS1 and PIASxalpha but not PIAS3 or PIASxbeta enhanced the sumoylation of AR in intact cells and in vitro. PIAS1 and PIASxalpha bound Ubc9, the E2 enzyme for SUMO-1, in a RING finger-like domain-dependent manner. Consistent with previous studies (Kahyo, T., Nishida, T., and Yasuda, H. (2001) Mol. Cell 8, 713-718), the RING finger-like domain of the SUMO-E3 was required for ligase activity. The binding of a ligand, e.g. testosterone, to the AR was required for the sumoylation of AR in intact cells. Although AR-dependent transcription was enhanced by PIAS proteins without sumoylation of the receptor, PIAS1 and PIASxalpha repressed AR-dependent transcription in a manner dependent on the ectopic expression of SUMO-1 and their RING finger-like domain. Furthermore, the sumoylation sites of the AR were necessary for the full repressive effect on AR-dependent transactivation, indicating that the sumoylation of AR was crucial for the repression of transactivation of the AR. Thus, PIAS1 and PIASxalpha modulate the AR-dependent transactivation, which, at least in part, can be attributed to their SUMO-E3 activity toward AR.