ASC-J9® suppresses prostate cancer cell proliferation and invasion via altering the ATF3-PTK2 signaling

Abstract Background Early studies indicated that ASC-J9®, an androgen receptor (AR) degradation enhancer, could suppress the prostate cancer (PCa) progression. Here we found ASC-J9® could also suppress the PCa progression via an AR-independent mechanism, which might involve modulating the tumor suppressor ATF3 expression. Methods The lentiviral system was used to modify gene expression in C4–2, CWR22Rv1 and PC-3 cells. Western blot and Immunohistochemistry were used to detect protein expression. MTT and Transwell assays were used to test the proliferation and invasion ability. Results ASC-J9® can suppress PCa cell proliferation and invasion in both PCa C4–2 and CWR22Rv1 cells via altering the ATF3 expression. Further mechanistic studies reveal that ASC-J9® can increase the ATF3 expression via decreasing Glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic (GCLC) subunit expression, which can then lead to decrease the PTK2 expression. Human clinical studies further linked the ATF3 expression to the PCa progression. Preclinical studies using in vivo mouse model also proved ASC-J9® could suppress AR-independent PCa cell invasion, which could be reversed after suppressing ATF3. Conclusions ASC-J9® can function via altering ATF3/PTK2 signaling to suppress the PCa progression in an AR-independent manner.