Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025

Phosphopeptide Enrichment Coupled with Label-free Quantitative Mass Spectrometry to Investigate the Phosphoproteome in Prostate Cancer
Published on: August 2, 2018
A phosphorylation switch controls androgen biosynthesis in prostate cancer
Yun Qiu1,2
1Departments of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Prostate cancer patients with a specific HSD3B1 gene variant are resistant to AR-targeting drugs. Inhibiting BMX kinase blocks androgen production and tumor growth, offering a new therapeutic strategy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Androgen biosynthesis enzyme 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (3βHSD1), encoded by HSD3B1, is implicated in prostate cancer therapeutic resistance.
- Homozygous HSD3B1(1245C) inheritance confers intrinsic resistance to androgen/androgen receptor-targeting (AR-targeting) drugs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the regulation of 3βHSD1 phosphorylation and activity by tyrosine kinase BMX.
- To explore BMX inhibition as a strategy to overcome therapeutic resistance in prostate cancer.
Main Methods:
- Investigated the role of tyrosine kinase BMX in regulating 3βHSD1 activity.
- Utilized genetic and pharmacologic approaches to inhibit BMX activity in prostate cancer cells.
- Evaluated the impact of BMX inhibition on androgen biosynthesis and tumor growth in preclinical xenograft models.
Main Results:
- BMX activity regulates 3βHSD1 phosphorylation and androgen biosynthesis.
- Inhibition of BMX blocked androgen biosynthesis in prostate cancer cells.
- BMX inhibition suppressed tumor growth in preclinical xenograft models.
Conclusions:
- BMX is a key regulator of androgen biosynthesis in prostate cancer.
- Inhibiting BMX offers a potential strategy to circumvent castration resistance, particularly in patients with homozygous HSD3B1(1245C) inheritance.
- These findings provide insights into mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and suggest novel treatment avenues.
More Related Videos
07:25A Bioluminescent and Fluorescent Orthotopic Syngeneic Murine Model of Androgen-dependent and Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
Published on: March 6, 2018
10:38Evaluating the Differentiation Capacity of Mouse Prostate Epithelial Cells Using Organoid Culture
Published on: November 22, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Phosphorylation
During phosphorylation, protein kinases transfer the terminal phosphate group of ATP to specific amino acid side chains of substrate proteins. Serine, threonine, and tyrosine are the most commonly...
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway
Amplifying Signals via Enzymatic Cascade
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...