Interaction between tumor cell surface receptor RAGE and proteinase 3 mediates prostate cancer metastasis to bone

Human prostate cancer often metastasizes to bone, but the biological basis for such site-specific tropism remains largely unresolved. Recent work led us to hypothesize that this tropism may reflect pathogenic interactions between RAGE, a cell surface receptor expressed on malignant cells in advanced prostate cancer, and proteinase 3 (PR3), a serine protease present in inflammatory neutrophils and hematopoietic cells within the bone marrow microenvironment. In this study, we establish that RAGE-PR3 interaction mediates homing of prostate cancer cells to the bone marrow. PR3 bound to RAGE on the surface of prostate cancer cells in vitro, inducing tumor cell motility through a non-proteolytic signal transduction cascade involving activation and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK1. In preclinical models of experimental metastasis, ectopic expression of RAGE on human prostate cancer cells was sufficient to promote bone marrow homing within a short time frame. Our findings demonstrate how RAGE-PR3 interactions between human prostate cancer cells and the bone marrow microenvironment mediate bone metastasis during prostate cancer progression, with potential implications for prognosis and therapeutic intervention.

Cancer research. 2017 Apr 20 [Epub ahead of print]

Mikhail G Kolonin, Anna Sergeeva, Daniela I Staquicini, Tracey L Smith, Christy A Tarleton, Jeffrey J Molldrem, Richard L Sidman, Serena MarchiĆ², Renata Pasqualini, Wadih Arap

Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston ., Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center., Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of New Mexico., Division of Molecular Medicine, University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center., Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center., Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Med Ctr.