Chromatin profiles classify castration-resistant prostate cancers suggesting therapeutic targets

F Tang, D Xu, S Wang, CK Wong… - Science, 2022 - science.org
F Tang, D Xu, S Wang, CK Wong, A Martinez-Fundichely, CJ Lee, S Cohen, J Park, CE Hill…
Science, 2022science.org
In castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the loss of androgen receptor (AR)
dependence leads to clinically aggressive tumors with few therapeutic options. We used
ATAC-seq (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing), RNA-seq, and DNA
sequencing to investigate 22 organoids, six patient-derived xenografts, and 12 cell lines. We
identified the well-characterized AR-dependent and neuroendocrine subtypes, as well as
two AR-negative/low groups: a Wnt-dependent subtype, and a stem cell–like (SCL) subtype …
In castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the loss of androgen receptor (AR) dependence leads to clinically aggressive tumors with few therapeutic options. We used ATAC-seq (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing), RNA-seq, and DNA sequencing to investigate 22 organoids, six patient-derived xenografts, and 12 cell lines. We identified the well-characterized AR-dependent and neuroendocrine subtypes, as well as two AR-negative/low groups: a Wnt-dependent subtype, and a stem cell–like (SCL) subtype driven by activator protein–1 (AP-1) transcription factors. We used transcriptomic signatures to classify 366 patients, which showed that SCL is the second most common subtype of CRPC after AR-dependent. Our data suggest that AP-1 interacts with the YAP/TAZ and TEAD proteins to maintain subtype-specific chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic landscapes in this group. Together, this molecular classification reveals drug targets and can potentially guide therapeutic decisions.
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