The role of CREB3L4 in the proliferation of prostate cancer cells

The incidence of prostate cancer (PC) is growing rapidly throughout the world, in probable association with the adoption of western style diets. Thus, understanding the molecular pathways triggering the development of PC is crucial for both its prevention and treatment. Here, we investigated the role of the metabolism-associated protein, CREB3L4, in the proliferation of PC cells. CREB3L4 was upregulated by the synthetic androgen, R1881, in LNCaP PC cells (an androgen-dependent cell line). Knockdown of CREB3L4 resulted in decreased androgen-dependent PC cell growth. LNCaP cells transfected with siCREB3L4 underwent G2/M arrest, with upregulation of the proteins cyclin B1, phospho-CDK1, p21(Waf1/Cip1), and INCA1, and downregulation of cyclin D1. Moreover, depletion of CREB3L4 resulted in significantly decreased expression of a subset of androgen-receptor (AR) target genes, including PSA, FKBP5, HPGD, KLK2, and KLK4. We also demonstrated that CREB3L4 directly interacts with the AR, and increases the binding of AR to androgen response elements (AREs). We also identified a role for the unfolded protein response (and its surrogate, IRE1α), in activating CREB3L4. Cumulatively, we postulate that CREB3L4 expression is mediated by an AR-IRE1α axis, but is also directly regulated by AR-to-ARE binding. Thus, our study demonstrates that CREB3L4 plays a key role in PC cell proliferation, which is promoted by both AR and IRE1α.