Supraphysiologic Testosterone Induces Ferroptosis and Activates Immune Pathways through Nucleophagy in Prostate Cancer

Rajendra Kumar, Janet Mendonca, Olutosin Owoyemi, Kavya Boyapati, Naiju Thomas, Suthicha Kanacharoen, Max Coffey, Deven Topiwala, Carolina Gomes, Busra Ozbek, Tracy Jones, Marc Rosen, Liang Dong, Sadie Wiens, W. Nathaniel Brennen, John T. Isaacs, Angelo M.De Marzo, Mark C. Markowski, Emmanuel S. Antonarakis, David Z. QianKenneth J. Pienta, Drew M. Pardoll, Michael A. Carducci, Samuel R. Denmeade, Sushant K. Kachhap

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

The discovery that androgens play an important role in the progression of prostate cancer led to the development of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) as a first line of treatment. However, paradoxical growth inhibition has been observed in a subset of prostate cancer upon administration of supraphysiologic levels of testosterone (SupraT), both experimentally and clinically. Here we report that SupraT activates cytoplasmic nucleic acid sensors and induces growth inhibition of SupraT-sensitive prostate cancer cells. This was initiated by the induction of two parallel autophagymediated processes, namely, ferritinophagy and nucleophagy. Consequently, autophagosomal DNA activated nucleic acid sensors converge on NFkB to drive immune signaling pathways. Chemokines and cytokines secreted by the tumor cells in response to SupraT resulted in increased migration of cytotoxic immune cells to tumor beds in xenograft models and patient tumors. Collectively, these findings indicate that SupraT may inhibit a subset of prostate cancer by activating nucleic acid sensors and downstream immune signaling. Significance: This study demonstrates that supraphysiologic testosterone induces two parallel autophagy-mediated processes, ferritinophagy and nucleophagy, which then activate nucleic acid sensors to drive immune signaling pathways in prostate cancer. _2021 American Association for Cancer Research.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5948-5962
Number of pages15
JournalCancer Research
Volume81
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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