Conclusions
Our study identified that PRKAR2B-HIF-1α loop enhances the Warburg effect to enable growth advantage in prostate cancer.
Methods
Loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies were used to investigate the regulatory role of PRKAR2B in aerobic glycolysis. Real-time qPCR, Western blotting, luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation were employed to determine the underlying mechanisms.
Results
PRKAR2B was sufficient to enhance the Warburg effect as demonstrated by glucose consumption, lactate production and extracellular acidification rate. Mechanistically, loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies showed that PRKAR2B was critically involved in the tumour growth of prostate cancer. PRKAR2B was able to increase the expression level of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), which is a key mediator of the Warburg effect. Moreover, we uncovered that HIF-1α is a key transcription factor responsible for inducing PRKAR2B expression in prostate cancer. Importantly, inhibition of glycolysis by the glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) or replacement of glucose in the culture medium with galactose (which has a much lower rate than glucose entry into glycolysis) largely compromised PRKAR2B-mediated tumour-promoting effect. Similar phenomenon was noticed by genetic silencing of HIF-1α. Conclusions: Our study identified that PRKAR2B-HIF-1α loop enhances the Warburg effect to enable growth advantage in prostate cancer.