PKM2 and HIF-1α regulation in prostate cancer cell lines

Prostate cancer (PCA) is one of the most common cancer types in men, with cancer progression being linked to hypoxia and the induction of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF).We investigated the expression of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), its regulation by HIF isoforms 1α and 2α, and its role in HIF stabilization. We additionally examined cell survival in the prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and LNCaP under severe hypoxic (0.1% O2) and normoxic (20% O2) conditions. qRT-PCR showed higher up-regulation of PKM2 mRNA expression in LNCaP cells than in PC3 cells, while western blotting showed that PKM2 protein levels were up-regulated only in LNCaP cells. Inhibition of HIF-1α and HIF-2α by small interfering RNA (si-RNA) demonstrated HIF-1α dependent up-regulation of PKM2 at the mRNA and protein levels in LNCaP cells. PKM2 inhibition by si-RNA significantly decreased hypoxia-response element (HRE) activation in a gene reporter assay and down-regulated HIF-1α target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression in PC3 cells, whereas HIF-1α protein levels were not significantly reduced. Additionally, PKM2 inhibition significantly reduced clonogenic survival in both cell lines in a colony formation assay. Prolyl hydroxylase 3 (PHD3) mRNA expression was up-regulated in both cell lines. It has been shown that PKM2 expression is regulated by HIF-1α and that PKM2 favors HIF-1α transactivation under mild (1% O2) but not severe (0.1% O2) hypoxic conditions, and some of our findings are consistent with these previous results. However, this mechanism was not fully observed in our studied cell lines, as PKM2 regulation and HIF-1α stabilization at the transactivation level occurred under severe hypoxic conditions. This discrepancy suggests that tumor tissue origin and cell type influence this model. Our findings expand the current knowledge of the mechanisms of PCA regulation, and would be important in developing novel therapeutic strategies.