ARPC1A correlates with poor prognosis in prostate cancer and is up-regulated by glutamine metabolism to promote tumor cell migration, invasion and cytoskeletal changes

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify potential biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCa) progression and metastasis, and to discern their biological functions. METHODS: Bioinformatics methods were used to screen for hub genes. The expression level of key hub genes in PCa was determined and their prognostic significance was examined. A series of functional assays were performed to investigate the function of the highest-ranking hub gene. RESULTS: Actin related protein 2/3 complex subunit 1A (ARPC1A) was identified as the hub gene. ARPC1A was highly expressed in PCa tissues and cell lines, and was an independent prognostic factor for predicting biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy and overall survival of PCa patients. Knockdown of ARPC1A inhibited PCa cell migration, invasion and cytoskeleton formation, but had no impact on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. In vivo, ARPC1A overexpression promoted lung metastasis of PCa, but had no efffect on tumor growth. Additionally, glutamine metabolism was identified as an upstream regulator of ARPC1A, and promoted migration, invasion and cytoskeletal changes of PCa cell through ARPC1A. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that ARPC1A, which correlates with poor prognosis in PCa, functions downstream of glutamine metabolism to regulate cytoskeletal changes, cellular migration and cellular invasion in this disease. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13578-023-00985-w.