Differential expression of the TPα and TPß isoforms of the human T Prostanoid receptor during chronic inflammation of the prostate: Role for FOXP1 in the transcriptional regulation of TPß during monocyte-macrophage differentiation.

Inflammation is linked to prostate cancer (PCa) and to other diseases of the prostate. The prostanoid thromboxane (TX)A2 is a pro-inflammatory mediator implicated in several prostatic diseases, including PCa. TXA2 signals through the TPα and TPß isoforms of the T Prostanoid receptor (TP) which exhibit several functional differences and transcriptionally regulated by distinct promoters Prm1 and Prm3, respectively, within the TBXA2R gene. This study examined the expression of TPα and TPß in inflammatory infiltrates within human prostate tissue. Strikingly, TPß expression was detected in 94% of infiltrates, including in B- and T-lymphocytes and macrophages. In contrast, TPα was more variably expressed and, where present, expression was mainly confined to macrophages. To gain molecular insight into these findings, expression of TPα and TPß was evaluated as a function of monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation in THP-1 cells. Expression of both TPα and TPß was upregulated following phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-induced differentiation of monocytic THP-1 to their macrophage lineage. Furthermore, FOXP1, an essential transcriptional regulator down-regulated during monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation, was identified as a key trans-acting factor regulating TPß expression through Prm3 in THP-1 cells. Knockdown of FOXP1 increased TPß, but not TPα, expression in THP-1 cells, while genetic reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analyses established that FOXP1 exerts its repressive effect on TPß through binding to four cis-elements within Prm3. Collectively, FOXP1 functions as a transcriptional repressor of TPß in monocytes. This repression is lifted in differentiated macrophages, allowing for upregulation of TPß expression and possibly accounting for the prominent expression of TPß in prostate tissue-resident macrophages.

Regulation of protein kinase C-related kinase (PRK) signalling by the TPα and TPß isoforms of the human thromboxane A2 receptor: Implications for thromboxane- and androgen- dependent neoplastic and epigenetic responses in prostate cancer.

The prostanoid thromboxane (TX) A2 and its T Prostanoid receptor (the TP) are increasingly implicated in prostate cancer (PCa). Mechanistically, we recently discovered that both TPα and TPß form functional signalling complexes with members of the protein kinase C-related kinase (PRK) family, AGC- kinases essential for the epigenetic regulation of androgen receptor (AR)-dependent transcription and promising therapeutic targets for treatment of castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Critically, similar to androgens, activation of the PRKs through the TXA2/TP signalling axis induces phosphorylation of histone H3 at Thr11 (H3Thr11), a marker of androgen-induced chromatin remodelling and transcriptional activation, raising the possibility that TXA2-TP signalling can mimic and/or enhance AR-induced cellular changes even in the absence of circulating androgens such as in CRPC. Hence the aim of the current study was to investigate whether TXA2/TP-induced PRK activation can mimic and/or enhance AR-mediated cellular responses in the model androgen-responsive prostate adenocarcinoma LNCaP cell line. We reveal that TXA2/TP signalling can act as a neoplastic- and epigenetic-regulator, promoting and enhancing both AR-associated chromatin remodelling (H3Thr11 phosphorylation, WDR5 recruitment and acetylation of histone H4 at lysine 16) and AR-mediated transcriptional activation (e.g of the KLK3/prostate-specific antigen and TMPRSS2 genes) through mechanisms involving TPα/TPß mediated-PRK1 and PRK2, but not PRK3, signalling complexes. Overall, these data demonstrate that TPα/TPß can act as neoplastic and epigenetic regulators by mimicking and/or enhancing the actions of androgens within the prostate and provides further mechanistic insights into the role of the TXA2/TP signalling axis in PCa, including potentially in CRPC.

Regulated expression of the TPß isoform of the human T prostanoid receptor by the tumour suppressors FOXP1 and NKX3.1: Implications for the role of thromboxane in prostate cancer.

The prostanoid thromboxane (TX)A2 signals through the TPα and TPß isoforms of T Prostanoid receptor (TP) that are transcriptionally regulated by distinct promoters termed Prm1 and Prm3, respectively, within the TBXA2R gene. We recently demonstrated that expression of TPα and TPß is increased in PCa, differentially correlating with Gleason grade and with altered CpG methylation of the individual Prm1/Prm3 regions within the TBXA2R. The current study sought to localise the sites of CpG methylation within Prm1 and Prm3, and to identify the main transcription factors regulating TPß expression through Prm3 in the prostate adenocarcinoma PC-3 and LNCaP cell lines. Bisulfite sequencing revealed extensive differences in the pattern and status of CpG methylation of the individual Prm1 and Prm3 regions that regulate TPα and TPß expression, respectively, within the TBXA2R. More specifically, Prm1 is predominantly hypomethylated while Prm3 is hypermethylated across its entire sequence in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. Furthermore, the tumour suppressors FOXP1 and NKX3.1, strongly implicated in PCa development, were identified as key transcription factors regulating TPß expression through Prm3 in both PCa cell lines. Specific siRNA-disruption of FOXP1 and NKX3.1 each coincided with up-regulated TPß protein and mRNA expression, while genetic-reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analyses confirmed that both FOXP1 and NKX3.1 bind to cis­elements within Prm3 to transcriptionally repress TPß in the PCa lines. Collectively these data identify Prm3/TPß as a bona fide target of FOXP1 and NKX3.1 regulation, providing a mechanistic basis, at least in part, for the highly significant upregulation of TPß expression in PCa.

Protein kinase C-related kinase 1 and 2 play an essential role in thromboxane-mediated neoplastic responses in prostate cancer.

The prostanoid thromboxane (TX) A2 is increasingly implicated in neoplastic progression, including prostate cancer (PCa). Mechanistically, we recently identified protein kinase C-related kinase (PRK) 1 as a functional interactant of both the TPα and TPß isoforms of the human T prostanoid receptor (TP). The interaction with PRK1 was not only essential for TPα/TPß-induced PCa cell migration but also enabled the TXA2-TP axis to induce phosphorylation of histone H3 at Thr11 (H3Thr11), an epigenetic marker both essential for and previously exclusively associated with androgen-induced chromatin remodelling and transcriptional activation. PRK1 is a member of a subfamily of three structurally related kinases comprising PRK1/PKNα, PRK2/PKNγ and PRK3/PKNß that are widely yet differentially implicated in various cancers. Hence, focusing on the setting of prostate cancer, this study investigated whether TPα and/or TPß might also complex with PRK2 and PRK3 to regulate their activity and neoplastic responses. While TPα and TPß were found in immune complexes with PRK1, PRK2 and PRK3 to regulate their activation and signalling, they do so differentially and in a TP agonist-regulated manner dependent on the T-loop activation status of the PRKs but independent of their kinase activity. Furthermore, TXA2-mediated neoplastic responses in prostate adenocarcinoma PC-3 cells, including histone H3Thr11 phosphorylation, was found to occur through a PRK1- and PRK2-, but not PRK3-, dependent mechanism. Collectively, these data suggest that TXA2 acts as both a neoplastic and epigenetic regulator and provides a mechanistic explanation, at least in part, for the prophylactic benefits of Aspirin in reducing the risk of certain cancers.

Role of aldehyde dehydrogenase in hypoxic vasodilator effects of nitrite in rats and humans.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hypoxic conditions favour the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide (NO) to elicit vasodilatation, but the mechanism(s) responsible for bioconversion remains ill defined. In the present study, we assess the role of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) in nitrite bioactivation under normoxia and hypoxia in the rat and human vasculature. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The role of ALDH2 in vascular responses to nitrite was studied using rat thoracic aorta and gluteal subcutaneous fat resistance vessels from patients with heart failure (HF; 16 patients) in vitro and by measurement of changes in forearm blood flow (FBF) during intra-arterial nitrite infusion (21 patients) in vivo. Specifically, we investigated the effects of (i) ALDH2 inhibition by cyanamide or propionaldehyde and the (ii) tolerance-independent inactivation of ALDH2 by glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) on the vasodilator activity of nitrite. In each setting, nitrite effects were measured via evaluation of the concentration-response relationship under normoxic and hypoxic conditions in the absence or presence of ALDH2 inhibitors. KEY RESULTS: Both in rat aorta and human resistance vessels, dilatation to nitrite was diminished following ALDH2 inhibition, in particular under hypoxia. In humans there was a non-significant trend towards attenuation of nitrite-mediated increases in FBF. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In human and rat vascular tissue in vitro, hypoxic nitrite-mediated vasodilatation involves ALDH2. In patients with HF in vivo, the role of this enzyme in nitrite bioactivation is at the most, modest, suggesting the involvement of other more important mechanisms.