Proteomics analysis of the interactome of N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 and its interactions with the androgen response program in prostate cancer cells

NDRG1 is known to play important roles in both androgen-induced cell differentiation and inhibition of prostate cancer metastasis. However, the proteins associated with NDRG1 function are not fully enumerated. Using coimmunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis, we identified 58 proteins that interact with NDRG1 in prostate cancer cells. These proteins include nuclear proteins, adhesion molecules, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperons, proteasome subunits, and signaling proteins. Integration of our data with protein-protein interaction data from the Human Proteome Reference Database allowed us to build a comprehensive interactome map of NDRG1. This interactome map consists of several modules such as a nuclear module and a cell membrane module; these modules explain the reported versatile functions of NDRG1. We also determined that serine 330 and threonine 366 of NDRG1 were phosphorylated and demonstrated that the phosphorylation of NDRG1 was prominently mediated by protein kinase A (PKA). Further, we showed that NDRG1 directly binds to beta-catenin and E-cadherin. However, the phosphorylation of NDRG1 did not interrupt the binding of NDRG1 to E-cadherin and beta-catenin. Finally, we showed that the inhibition of NDRG1 expression by RNA interference decreased the ER inducible chaperon GRP94 expression, directly proving that NDRG1 is involved in the ER stress response. Intriguingly, we observed that many members of the NDRG1 interactome are androgen-regulated and that the NDRG1 interactome links to the androgen response network through common interactions with P-catenin and heat shock protein 90. Therefore we overlaid the transcriptomic expression changes in the NDRG1 interactome in response to androgen treatment and built a dual dynamic picture of the NDRG1 interactome in response to androgen. This interactome map provides the first road map for understanding the functions of NDRG1 in cells and its roles in human diseases, such as prostate cancer, which can progress from androgen-dependent curable stages to androgen-independent incurable stages.