Destruction of Full-Length Androgen Receptor by Wild-Type SPOP, but Not Prostate-Cancer-Associated Mutants

The SPOP E3 ubiquitin ligase gene is frequently mutated in human prostate cancers. Here, we demonstrate that SPOP recognizes a Ser/Thr-rich degron in the hinge domain of androgen receptor (AR) and induces degradation of full-length AR and inhibition of AR-mediated gene transcription and prostate cancer cell growth. AR splicing variants, most of which lack the hinge domain, escape SPOP-mediated degradation. Prostate-cancer-associated mutants of SPOP cannot bind to and promote AR destruction. Furthermore, androgens antagonize SPOP-mediated degradation of AR, whereas antiandrogens promote this process. This study identifies AR as a bona fide substrate of SPOP and elucidates a role of SPOP mutations in prostate cancer, thus implying the importance of this pathway in resistance to antiandrogen therapy of prostate cancer.