Prohibitin and cofilin are intracellular effectors of transforming growth factor beta signaling in human prostate cancer cells.

A proteomic analysis was pursued to identify new signaling effectors of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) that serve as potential intracellular effectors of its apoptotic action in human prostate cancer cells. The androgen-sensitive and TGF-beta-responsive human prostate cancer cells, LNCaP T beta RII, were used as in vitro model. In response to TGF-beta, significant posttranslational changes in two proteins temporally preceded apoptotic cell death. TGF-beta mediated the nuclear export of prohibitin, a protein involved in androgen-regulated prostate growth, to the cytosol in the LNCaP T beta RII cells. Cofilin, a protein involved in actin depolymerization, cell motility, and apoptosis, was found to undergo mitochondrial translocation in response to TGF-beta before cytochrome c release. Loss-of-function approaches (small interfering RNA) to silence prohibitin expression revealed a modest decrease in the apoptotic response to TGF-beta and a significant suppression in TGF-beta-induced cell migration. Silencing Smad4 showed that the cellular localization changes associated with prohibitin and cofilin action in response to TGF-beta are independent of Smad4 intracellular signaling.