Wilms’ Tumor 1-Associating Protein Promotes Prostate Cancer Proliferation via Upregulation of CDK4 Transcript
Abstract Background: Wilms’ tumor 1-associating protein (WTAP) plays an important role in cell physiological function and have attracted increased interest in cancer research recently. Cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) are known to participate in regulating the cell cycle and often connected to many malignancies in tumor. We aim to explore whether WTAP or CDKs could play an role in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer(PCa) and hope to provide new insights into PCa treatment and prognostic. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed to explore the expression of WTAP and CDK4 in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. The survival analysis was used to investigate the association between WTAP expression and the clinical outcomes of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer cell lines were stably transfected with lentivirus approach. CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, cell invasion and migration assay, cell cycle assay and tumorigenesis in nude mice were performed to study the effect of WTAP in prostate cancer cell lines. RNA immunoprecipitation assay, dual-luciferase reporter assay and siRNA transfection were performed to verify the direct binding sites of WTAP with CDK4 transcript.Results: In prostate cancer tissues and cell lines, WTAP was significantly up-regulated and high expression of WTAP was connected to poor clinical outcomes. Additionally, cell function test indicated that overexpression of WTAP in prostate cancer cell lines could promote cell proliferation, while knocking down showed an opposite results. Subcutaneous xenograft tumor model revealed that overexpression of WTAP could induce tumorigenesis in vivo. Mechanism study showed that CDK4 expression could regulate the expression level of WTAP. Moreover, WTAP could directly bind to 3’-UTR of CDK4 transcript and enhance its stability. Furthermore, specific inhibitors of CDK4 as well as small interfering RNA (siRNA) of CDK4 reversed the promotion of proliferation induced by WTAP.Conclusions: These data indicated that WTAP may act as an oncogenic in prostate cancer by directly binding to CDK4 3’-UTR and stabilizing its transcript which might provide new insights into prostate cancer treatment and prognostic.