Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is considered to play a crucial role in the development of the metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, which causes the majority of the death cases in PC. Golgi membrane protein 1 (GOLM1) is highly expressed in PC and has been identified as a driver factor for EMT in various cancers. However, its biological functions and underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous in PC. Method: GOLM1 expression level of PC was detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses. To investigate GOLM1 functions in cancer cells, we overexpressed and knocked down GOLM1 in different prostate cancer cell lines. Transwell assay and wound healing assay were used to determine the role of GOLM1 in cell EMT, such as migration and invasion abilities. TGF-β1/Smad2 signaling pathway downstream of GOLM1 was detected by Western blot and Transwell assay. Result: GOLM1 expression is up-regulated in PC and correlated with a worse prognosis. GOLM1 promotes the abilities of migration and invasion in PC cell lines (DU145 and LNCaP). Furthermore, TGF-β1/Smad2 signaling is positively regulated by GOLM1 to facilitate EMT in PC, whereas this role can be restored by TGF-β1 after GOLM1 knockdown or be abrogated by p-Smad inhibitor SB431542. Conclusion: GOLM1 is significantly upregulated in PC and acts as a critical oncogene by promoting PC cell EMT process by activating TGF-β1/Smad2 signaling pathway. Therefore, GOLM1 has the potential to be a biomarker for PC diagnosis and to predict the prognosis of PC patients. It is of great significance to seek effective and specific inhibitor of GOLM1 for PC treatment as well.
Keywords: GOLM1; TGF-β1; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; prostate cancer.