The tumor suppressor role of annexin-A7 (ANXA7) was previously demonstrated by cancer susceptibility in Anxa7(1/2)-mice and by ANXA7 loss in human cancers, especially in hormone-resistant prostate tumors. To gain mechanistic insights into ANXA7 tumor suppression, we undertook an in vitro study in which we compared wild-type (WT)-ANXA7 and dominant-negative (DN)-ANXA7 effects to a conventional tumor suppressor p53 in prostate cancer cells with different androgen sensitivity. Unlike p53 (which caused cell growth arrest and apoptosis to a noticeable extent in benign PrEC), WT-ANXA7 demonstrated profound cytotoxicity in androgen-sensitive LNCaP as well as in the androgen-resistant DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells, but not in PrEC. In androgen-sensitive LNCaP, WT-ANXA7 decreased lowmolecular-weight (LMW) AR protein forms and maintained higher retinoblastoma 1 (RB1)/phospho-RB1 ratio. In contrast, DN-ANXA7 (which lacks phosphatidylserine liposome aggregation properties) increased LMW-AR forms and hyperphosphorylated RB1 that was consistent with the lack of DN-ANXA7 cytotoxicity. According to the microarray-based Ingenuity Pathways Analysis, a major WT-ANXA7 effect in androgen-sensitive LNCaP constituted of upregulation of the RB1-binding transcription factor E2F1 along with its downstream proapoptotic targets such as ASK1 and ASPP2. These results suggested a reversal of the RBdependent repression of the proapoptotic E2F-mediated transcription. However, DN-ANXA7 increased RB1/2 (but not E2F1) expression and induced the proliferation-promoting ERK5, thereby maintaining the RB-dependent repression of E2F-mediated apoptosis in LNcaP. On the other hand, in androgen-resistant cells, WT-ANXA7 tumor suppressor effects involved PTEN and NFkB pathways. Thus, ANXA7 revived the RB-associated cell survival control and overcame androgen resistance and dysfunctional status of major tumor suppressors commonly mutated in prostate cancer. Published 2009 UICC. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.Key words: annexin-A7 vs. p53; RB-E2F; AR; prostate cancer; Ingenuity Pathways Analysis Annexin-VII (ANXA7 or synexin) is a ubiquitously expressed member of the multifunctional Ca/phospholipid-binding annexin family. In addition to Ca 21 -activated GTPase activity as well as involvement in membrane fusion and exocytosis, ANXA7 demonstrated tumor suppressor function in murine model 1 and in human prostate and breast cancers. 2,3 Our large-scale study on ANXA7 protein expression in different cancers 4 identified a drastic ANXA7 loss in the hormone-refractory prostate cancers as well as an abundant ANXA7 presence in the adrenal gland, a major source of sex hormone precursors. Although tumor suppressor mechanisms of ANXA7 are not yet elucidated, these data suggested that ANXA7, which has androgen-receptor (AR) regulatory elements in its promoter, may be involved in the regulation of androgen-dependent cell survival in prostate cancer cells.Androgen-dependent proliferation is p...