Exosomes derived from myeloid-derived suppressor cells facilitate castration-resistant prostate cancer progression via S100A9/circMID1/miR-506-3p/MID1

BACKGROUND: Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is a major cause of recurrence and mortality among prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) regulate castration resistance in PCa. Previously, it was shown that intercellular communication was efficiently mediated by exosomes (Exos), but the role and the mechanism of MDSC-derived Exos in CRPC progression was unclear. METHODS: In this study, the circRNA expression profiles in PC3 cells treated with MDSC-Exo and control cells were investigated using a circRNA microarray. RESULTS: The data showed that circMID1 (hsa_circ_0007718) expression was elevated in PC3 cells treated with MDSC-Exo. Moreover, high circMID1 expression was found in PCa compared with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissues and in CRPC patients compared with hormone sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC) patients. Further studies showed that MDSC-Exo accelerated PCa cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while circMID1 deficiency inhibited MDSC-Exo-regulated CRPC progression in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, MDSC-derived exosomal S100A9 increased circMID1 expression to sponge miR-506-3p, leading to increased MID1 expression and accelerated tumor progression. CONCLUSION: Together, our results showed that a S100A9/circMID1/miR-506-3p/MID1 axis existed in MDSC-Exo-regulated CRPC progression, which provided novel insights into MDSC-Exo regulatory mechanisms in CRPC progression. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-022-03494-5.