miR-100-5p inhibition induces apoptosis in dormant prostate cancer cells and prevents the emergence of castration-resistant prostate cancer

Carcinoma of the prostate is the most common cancer in men. Treatment of aggressive prostate cancer involves a regiment of radical prostectomy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Despite significant improvements in the last decade, the treatment of prostate cancer remains unsatisfactory, because a significant fraction of prostate cancers develop resistance to multiple treatments and become incurable. This prompts an urgent need to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of therapy-induced resistance of prostate cancer either in the form of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) or transdifferentiated neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). By analyzing micro-RNA expression profiles in a set of patient-derived prostate cancer xenograft tumor lines, we identified miR-100-5p as one of the key molecular components in the initiation and evolution of androgen ablation therapy resistance in prostate cancer. In vitro results showed that miR-100-5p is required for hormone-independent survival and proliferation of prostate cancer cells post androgen ablation. In Silico target predictions revealed that miR-100-5p target genes are involved in key aspects of cancer progression, and are associated with clinical outcome. Our results suggest that mir-100-5p is a possible therapeutic target involved in prostate cancer progression and relapse post androgen ablation therapy.