ARFGAP3, an androgen target gene, promotes prostate cancer cell proliferation and migration.

ADP ribosylation factor GTPase-activating protein 3 (ARFGAP3) is a GTPase-activating protein that associates with the Golgi apparatus and regulates the vesicular trafficking pathway. In the present study, we examined the contribution of ARFGAP3 to prostate cancer cell biology. We showed that ARFGAP3 expression was induced by 100 nM of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at both the mRNA and protein levels in androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells. We generated stable transfectants of LNCaP cells with FLAG-tagged ARFGAP3 or a control empty vector and showed that ARFGAP3 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and migration compared with control cells. We found that ARFGAP3 interacted with paxillin, a focal adhesion adaptor protein that is important for cell mobility and migration. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of ARFGAP3 showed that ARFGAP3 siRNA markedly reduced LNCaP cell growth. Androgen receptor (AR)-dependent transactivation activity on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) enhancer was synergistically promoted by exogenous ARFGAP3 and paxillin expression, as shown by luciferase assay in LNCaP cells. Thus, our results suggest that ARFGAP3 is a novel androgen-regulated gene that can promote prostate cancer cell proliferation and migration in collaboration with paxillin.