Abstract
The overexpression of the prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3) gene is well-defined as a marker for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. Although widely used in clinical research, PCA3 molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Herein we used phage display technology to identify putative molecules that bind to the promoter region of PCA3 gene and regulate its expression. The most frequent peptide PCA3p1 (80%) was similar to the Rho GTPase activating protein 21 (ARHGAP21) and its binding affinity was confirmed using Phage Bead ELISA. We showed that ARHGAP21 silencing in LNCaP prostate cancer cells decreased PCA3 and androgen receptor (AR) transcriptional levels and increased prune homolog 2 (PRUNE2) coding gene expression, indicating effective involvement of ARHGAP21 in androgen-dependent tumor pathway. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay confirmed the interaction between PCA3 promoter region and ARHGAP21. This is the first study that described the role of ARHGAP21 in regulating the PCA3 gene under the androgenic pathway, standing out as a new mechanism of gene regulatory control during prostatic oncogenesis.