CDO1 is a new biomarker to discriminate aggressive forms of prostate cancer

Worldwide, prostate cancer (PCa) ranks second in terms of incidence and eighth in terms of mortality. While most cancers remain silent after initial treatment, some tumors recur. At present, we are unable to predict which patients are at risk of recurrence. In order to determine this risk of recurrence as early as at the biopsy stage, and to enable better therapeutic management of patients, it is essential to identify new biomarkers. In this study, we have demonstrated that Cysteine Dioxygenase CDO1 could be a predictive marker in PCa progression. Transcriptomic analysis showed that CDO1 expression is significantly reduced in patients who have relapsed and lower CDO1 expression is associated with poorer survival outcomes. In PCa, CDO1 expression could be regulated by methylation and androgen signaling pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of CDO1 expression in VCaP prostate cancer cells led to increased cell migration and non-adherent growth. Finally, transcriptomic analysis of these cells with inhibited CDO1 expression demonstrates the complex role of CDO1 and its possible involvement in the mechanisms regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress and protein unfolding. Altogether, these results describe the loss of CDO1 as a marker of aggressiveness in PCa. Furthermore, the loss of CDO1 is thought to be responsible for tumor progression in vitro by acting on multiple signaling pathways.