A positive role of c-Myc in regulating androgen receptor and its splice variants in prostate cancer

Increased expression of the full-length androgen receptor (AR-FL) and AR splice variants (AR-Vs) drives the progression of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The levels of AR-FL and AR-V transcripts are often tightly correlated in individual CRPC samples, yet our understanding of how their expression is co-regulated is limited. Here, we report a role of c-Myc in accounting for coordinated AR-FL and AR-V expression. Analysis of gene-expression data from 159 metastatic CRPC samples and 2142 primary prostate tumors showed that the level of c-Myc is positively correlated with that of individual AR isoforms. A striking positive correlation also exists between the activity of the c-Myc pathway and the level of individual AR isoforms, between the level of c-Myc and the activity of the AR pathway, and between the activities of the two pathways. Moreover, the c-Myc signature is highly enriched in tumors expressing high levels of AR, as is the AR signature in c-Myc-high-expressing tumors. Using shRNA knockdown, we confirmed c-Myc regulation of expression and activity of AR-FL and AR-Vs in cell models and a patient-derived xenograft model. Mechanistically, c-Myc promotes the transcription of the AR gene and enhances the stability of the AR-FL and AR-V proteins without altering AR RNA splicing. Importantly, inhibiting c-Myc sensitizes enzalutamide-resistant cells to growth inhibition by enzalutamide. Overall, this study highlights a critical role of c-Myc in regulating the coordinated expression of AR-FL and AR-Vs that is commonly observed in CRPC and suggests the utility of targeting c-Myc as an adjuvant to AR-directed therapy.