PACE4 regulates apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells via endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial signaling pathways

PACE4 is a proprotein convertase capable of processing numerous substrates involved in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. However, the precise role of PACE4 during prostate cancer cell apoptosis has not been reported. In the present study, human prostate cancer cell lines DU145, LNCaP, and PC3 were transfected with PACE4 small interfering (si)RNA to investigate the underlying mechanisms of apoptosis. We revealed that PACE4 siRNA exhibited antitumor activity by inducing apoptosis, as determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltet-razolium bromide (MTT) assay, cell cycle analysis, Hoechst staining, caspase-3/7 activity, and western blot analysis. In addition, PACE4 siRNA significantly increased the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, which led to the release of cytochrome c. Moreover, PACE4 siRNA also induced endoplasmic reticulum stress by increasing the expression of GRP78, GRP94, p-PERK, and p-eIF2α. The ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and GRP78 were also increased in PACE4 gene knockdown prostate cancer cells compared with the control cells. These data demonstrate that PACE4 siRNA may exert its antitumor activity through mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathways, indicating it may be a novel therapeutic target for prostate cancer.