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Role of non-coding RNA in lineage plasticity of prostate cancer

Cancer Gene Therapy volume 32, pages 1–10 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

The treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) has made great progress in recent years, but treatment resistance always develops and can even lead to fatal disease. Exploring the mechanism of drug resistance is of great significance for improving treatment outcomes and developing biomarkers with predictive value. It is increasingly recognized that mechanism of drug resistance in advanced PCa is related to lineage plasticity and tissue differentiation. Specifically, one of the mechanisms by which castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells acquire drug resistance and transform into neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) cells is lineage plasticity. NEPC is a subtype of PCa that is highly aggressive and lethal, with a median survival of only 7 months. With the development of high-throughput RNA sequencing technology, more and more non-coding RNAs have been identified, which play important roles in different diseases through different mechanisms. Several ncRNAs have shown great potential in PCa lineage plasticity and as biomarkers. In the review, the role of ncRNA in PCa lineage plasticity and its use as biomarkers were reviewed.

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Fig. 1: The role of miRNA in PCa lineage plasticity.
Fig. 2: The role of lncRNA in PCa lineage plasticity.
Fig. 3: The role of circRNA in PCa lineage plasticity.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82303122), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Nos. 2021JJ30613, 2022JJ30106), Health Research Project of Hunan Provincial Health Commission (Nos. B20180192, D202304059395, C20180075), Hunan University students Innovation training program project (No. 2022X10555139).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Translational Medicine, Hengyang Medical College, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China

    Wenhui Tan, Min Ma & Ermao Li

  2. Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China

    Changkai Xiao, Youhan Cao, Zhenguo Huang, Xiaolan Wang & Ran Kang

  3. Affiliated Hengyang Hospital of Hunan Normal University & Hengyang Central Hospital, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China

    Zhenfa Li

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  1. Wenhui Tan
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  2. Changkai Xiao
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  3. Min Ma
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  7. Ran Kang
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Contributions

The idea of the review was conceived by EML, who also created the Figures. WHT took charge of writing the manuscript and creating the Table, significantly contributing to the manuscript’s composition. CKX and MM conducted the initial research or gathered the data used in the review. YHC and ZGH prepared figures or tables to illustrate the findings. XLW, RK and ZFL critically reviewed and edited drafts of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ran Kang, Zhenfa Li or Ermao Li.

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Tan, W., Xiao, C., Ma, M. et al. Role of non-coding RNA in lineage plasticity of prostate cancer. Cancer Gene Ther 32, 1–10 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41417-024-00834-z

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