Androgen-induced TOP2B mediated double strand breaks and prostate cancer gene rearrangements

DNA double strand breaks (DSB) can lead to development of genomic rearrangements, which are hallmarks of cancer. TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusions in prostate cancer (PCa) are among the most common genomic rearrangements observed in human cancer. We show that androgen signaling promotes co-recruitment of androgen receptor (AR) and topoisomerase II beta (TOP2B) to sites of TMPRSS2-ERG genomic breakpoints, triggering recombinogenic TOP2B-mediated DSB. Furthermore, androgen stimulation resulted in de novo production of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion transcripts in a process requiring TOP2B and components of DSB repair machinery. Finally, unlike normal prostate epithelium, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) cells showed strong co-expression of AR and TOP2B. These findings implicate androgen-induced TOP2B-mediated DSB in generating TMPRSS2-ERG rearrangements.