No abstract

Increased CCL2 expression in prostate cancer (PCa) cells enhanced metastasis via macrophage recruitment. However, its linkage to androgen receptor (AR)-mediated PCa progression remains unclear. Here, we identified a previously unrecognized regulation: targeting AR with siRNA in PCa cells increased macrophage recruitment via CCL2 up-regulation, which might then result in enhancing PCa invasiveness. Molecular mechanism dissection revealed that targeting PCa AR with siRNA promoted PCa cell migration/invasion via CCL2-dependent STAT3 activation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathways. Importantly, pharmacologic interruption of the CCL2/CCR2-STAT3 axis suppressed EMT and PCa cell migration, providing a new mechanism linking CCL2 and EMT. Simultaneously targeting PCa AR with siRNA and the CCL2/CCR2-STAT3 axis resulted in better suppression of PCa growth and metastasis in a xenograft PCa mouse model. Human PCa tissue microarray analysis suggests that increased CCL2 expression may be potentially associated with poor prognosis of PCa patients. Together, these results may provide a novel therapeutic approach to better battle PCa progression and metastasis at the castration resistant stage via the combination of targeting AR with siRNA and anti-CCL2/CCR2-STAT3 signalling.

Despite androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) suppression of prostate cancer (PCa) growth, its overall effects on PCa metastasis remain unclear. Using human (C4-2B/THP1) and mouse (TRAMP-C1/RAW264.7) PCa cells–macrophages co-culture systems, we found currently used anti-androgens, MDV3100 (enzalutamide) or Casodex (bicalutamide), promoted macrophage migration to PCa cells that consequently led to enhanced PCa cell invasion. In contrast, the AR degradation enhancer, ASC-J9, suppressed both macrophage migration and subsequent PCa cell invasion. Mechanism dissection showed that Casodex/MDV3100 reduced the AR-mediated PIAS3 expression and enhanced the pSTAT3-CCL2 pathway. Addition of CCR2 antagonist reversed the Casodex/MDV3100-induced macrophage migration and PCa cell invasion. In contrast, ASC-J9 could regulate pSTAT3-CCL2 signaling using two pathways: an AR-dependent pathway via inhibiting PIAS3 expression and an AR-independent pathway via direct inhibition of the STAT3 phosphorylation/activation. These findings were confirmed in the in vivo mouse model with orthotopically injected TRAMP-C1 cells. Together, these results may raise the potential concern about the currently used ADT with anti-androgens that promotes PCa metastasis and may provide some new and better therapeutic strategies using ASC-J9 alone or a combinational therapy that simultaneously targets androgens/AR signaling and PIAS3-pSTAT3-CCL2 signaling to better battle PCa growth and metastasis at castration-resistant stage.

Chemokines, which are basic proteins that exert their effects via G protein-coupled receptors and a subset of the cytokine family, are mediators deeply involved in leukocyte migration during an inflammatory reaction. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 20 (CCL20), also known as macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3α, liver activation regulated chemokine (LARC), and Exodus-1, is a small protein that is physiologically expressed in the liver, colon, and skin, is involved in tissue inflammation and homeostasis, and has a specific receptor C-C chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6). The CCL20-CCR6 axis has long been known to be involved in inflammatory and infectious diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and human immunodeficiency virus infections. Recently, however, reports have shown that the CCL20-CCR6 axis is associated with several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, and kidney cancer. The CCL20-CCR6 axis promotes cancer progression directly by enhancing migration and proliferation of cancer cells and indirectly by remodeling the tumor microenvironment through immune cell control. The present article reviewed the role of the CCL20-CCR6 axis in cancer progression and its potential as a therapeutic target.

Infiltrating macrophages are a key component of inflammation during tumorigenesis, but the direct evidence of such linkage remains unclear. We report here that persistent co-culturing of immortalized prostate epithelial cells with macrophages, without adding any carcinogens, induces prostate tumorigenesis, and that induction involves the alteration of signaling of macrophage androgen receptor (AR)-inflammatory chemokine CCL4-STAT3 activation as well as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and down-regulation of p53/PTEN tumor suppressors. In vivo studies further showed that PTEN+/− mice lacking macrophage AR developed far fewer prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions, supporting an in vivo role for macrophage AR during prostate tumorigenesis. CCL4 neutralizing antibody effectively blocked macrophage-induced prostate tumorigenic signaling, and targeting AR via an AR degradation enhancer, ASC-J9®, reduced CCL4 expression and xenografted tumor growth in vivo. Importantly, CCL4 upregulation was associated with increased Snail expression and down-regulation of p53/PTEN in high-grade PIN and prostate cancer. Together, our results identify the AR-CCL4-STAT3 axis as key regulators during prostate tumor initiation and highlight the important roles of infiltrating macrophages and inflammatory cytokines for the prostate tumorigenesis.