Epigenetic alterations in stromal cells mediate prostate cancer phenotypes

Prostate cancer is an androgen-dependent disease; therefore, current approaches for treatment aim to disrupt androgen signaling. Unfortunately, this approach is rarely curative due to the selection of resistant clones and adaptation of stromal and endothelial cells to support tumor growth. In this episode, Neil Bhowmick and colleagues evaluated epigenetic alterations in prostate cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and determined that the Ras inhibitor RASAL3 is silenced in these cells, thereby driving macropinocytosis-mediated glutamine synthesis due to increased oncogenic Ras activity. The increase in stromal glutamine associated with neuroendocrine differentiation, and in prostate cancer patients, blood glutamine levels were elevated in patients that were resistant to androgen deprivation compared to those that were responsive. Together, these results suggest that strategies to prevent glutamine uptake be considered in conjunction with androgen deprivation.