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The prostate cancer-up-regulated myc-associated zinc-finger protein (MAZ) modulates proliferation and metastasis through reciprocal regulation of androgen receptor

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Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies in men and the second leading cause of male cancer mortality. MAZ (Myc-associated zinc-finger protein) is a transcription factor that regulates the transcription of oncogenes, and the deregulated MAZ expression is closely related to the development and progression of a variety of cancers. In the present study, the role of MAZ in PCa tumorigenesis and its interaction with androgen receptor (AR), which is essential to PCa development in humans, were investigated. MAZ expression was found to be higher in clinical PCa specimens than in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and adjacent normal tissues, and MAZ expression was positively correlated with AR expression, which was also observed in PCa cell lines. After knockdown of MAZ by siRNA, cell proliferation was notably inhibited, colony formation declined, the cell cycle was arrested at G0/G1 phase, and the number of cells in S phase decreased (p < 0.05). MAZ knockdown resulted in a significant decline in the migration and invasion capacity of the LNCaP-AD cell line. siRNA knockdown of AR significantly decreased MAZ expression, and knockdown of MAZ significantly increased the expression of AR and DHT-induced androgen response element (ARE). These results suggest that MAZ and AR are interrelated and that MAZ plays an important role in PCa pathogenesis, which could be a potential therapeutic target.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Grant numbers: 81202036, 30872562, 81172448.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, 168 Changhai Road, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China

    Li Jiao, Yun Li, Dan Shen, Chuanliang Xu, Linhui Wang, Gang Huang, Yinhui Yang, Chun Yang & Yinghao Sun

  2. Tongji University Advanced Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai, P.R. China

    Li Jiao & Lin Chen

  3. Department of Urology, Shanghai Shibei Hospital of Zhabei District, Shanghai, 200443, China

    Yun Li

  4. Department of Urology, Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China

    Dan Shen

  5. Department of Pathology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, P.R. China

    Yongwei Yu

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  1. Li Jiao
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  2. Yun Li
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  3. Dan Shen
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  5. Linhui Wang
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  8. Yinhui Yang
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  9. Chun Yang
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  10. Yongwei Yu
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  11. Yinghao Sun
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li Jiao.

Additional information

Yun Li, Dan Shen, and Li Jiao contributed equally to this work.

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Jiao, L., Li, Y., Shen, D. et al. The prostate cancer-up-regulated myc-associated zinc-finger protein (MAZ) modulates proliferation and metastasis through reciprocal regulation of androgen receptor. Med Oncol 30, 570 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-013-0570-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-013-0570-3

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