The proline-rich acidic protein is epigenetically regulated and inhibits growth of cancer cell lines.

The proline-rich acidic protein (PRAP) gene was found previously to be expressed in the epithelial cells of the mouse and rat gastrointestinal tracts, and pregnant mouse uterus. This article describes the isolation, distribution, and functional characterization of the human homologue. PRAP was abundantly expressed in the epithelial cells of the human liver, kidney, gastrointestinal tract, and cervix. PRAP expression was significantly down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and right colon adenocarcinoma compared with the respective adjacent normal tissues. Treatment of the cells with butyrate, trichostatin A, and 5'-aza-2' deoxycytidine caused increases in PRAP gene expression of up to 30-fold, suggesting that the gene is suppressed through epigenetic mechanisms involving histone deacetylation and methylation. To determine the significance of PRAP expression in cancer cells, we cloned PRAP and its two major splice variants from human colon and liver, and overexpressed it in HeLa, HT29, and HepG2 cells. PRAP caused cell growth inhibition in the cancer cell lines in transient transfection assays, colony formation assays, and in the growth rates of stable clones. The data suggest that PRAP and its variants may play an important role in maintaining normal growth homeostasis in epithelial cells. The epigenetic suppression of PRAP expression in cancer may cause growth dysregulation, a hallmark of the carcinogenic process.