DEPDC1 promotes cell proliferation and tumor growth via activation of E2F signaling in prostate cancer

DEP domain containing 1 (DEPDC1) is recently reported to be overexpressed in several types of human cancer; however the role of DEPDC1 in prostate cancer remains to be investigated. Herein, we identified that the DEPDCI mRNA and protein expression levels were dramatically increased in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of DEPDCI promoted, but depletion of DEPDCI inhibited cell proliferation by regulating the G1-S phase cell cycle transition. Importantly, we found that DEPDCI was essential for the tumor growth and formation of bone metastases of prostate cancer cells in vivo. Finally, we demonstrated that DEPDCI interacted with E2F1 and increased its transcriptional activity, leading to hyper-activation of E2F signaling in prostate cancer cells. Our findings reveal an oncogenic role of DEPDCI in prostate cancer progression via activation of E2F signaling, and suggest DEPDCI might be a potential therapeutic target against the disease. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.