ONECUT2 Activates Diverse Resistance Drivers of Androgen Receptor-Independent Heterogeneity in Prostate Cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACTSignificance StatementONECUT2 (OC2) is a master transcription factor that alters lineage identity by activating gene networks associated with both neuroendocrine prostate cancer and prostate adenocarcinoma. A small molecule inhibitor of OC2 represses the lineage plasticity program activated by enzalutamide, suggesting OC2 inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent emergence of treatment-resistant variants.Graphic AbstractAndrogen receptor-(AR-) indifference is a mechanism of resistance to hormonal therapy in prostate cancer (PC). Here we demonstrate that the HOX/CUT transcription factor ONECUT2 (OC2) activates resistance through multiple drivers associated with adenocarcinoma, stem-like and neuroendocrine (NE) variants. Direct OC2 targets include the glucocorticoid receptor and the NE splicing factorSRRM4, among others. OC2 regulates gene expression by promoter binding, enhancement of chromatin accessibility, and formation of novel super-enhancers. OC2 also activates glucuronidation genes that irreversibly disable androgen, thereby evoking phenotypic heterogeneity indirectly by hormone depletion. Pharmacologic inhibition of OC2 suppresses lineage plasticity reprogramming induced by the AR signaling inhibitor enzalutamide. These results demonstrate that OC2 activation promotes a range of drug resistance mechanisms associated with treatment-emergent lineage variation in PC. Our findings support enhanced efforts to therapeutically target this protein as a means of suppressing treatment-resistant disease.