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2025 Center for Prostate Disease Research – PCF Young Investigator Award

Investigating Mechanistic Role of RAD21/Cohesin in Advanced Prostate Cancers

Allen (Xiaofeng) Su, PhD     
Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR)

Mentors: Matt Vander Heiden, Leigh Ellis

Description:

  • Prostate cancer commonly exhibits gains and losses of chromosomes, a phenomenon called aneuploidy. Increased aneuploidy is linked to lethal progression, particularly in metastatic prostate cancer. Chromosome 8q (chr8q) is the most frequently gained chromosome in aneuploid prostate cancer. 
  • Dr. Allen (Xiaofeng) Su and team have identified RAD21, a gene located on chr8q, as a key promoter of lethal prostate cancer progression. RAD21 is an essential part of the cohesin protein complex, which functions to holds sister chromatids together during DNA replication until cell starts to divide. However, the role of aneuploidy associated RAD21 gain in metastatic disease remains undefined.
  • In this project, Dr. Su will assess levels of RAD21 and cohesin in metastatic prostate cancer and their association with aggressive cancer features. He will also determine the molecular mechanisms by which increased RAD21/cohesin and RAD21 copy number changes drives prostate cancer progression, including impacts on DNA damage, genome architecture, and gene expression.
  • If successful, this study will provide critical insights into how increased RAD21 and cohesin complex activity contribute to lethal metastatic prostate cancer. This will support the development of novel therapeutic strategies for targeting RAD21-overexpressing prostate cancer. 

What this means to patients: RAD21 is a genome-regulating gene that is commonly amplified in prostate cancer and may have a role in driving lethal prostate cancer progression. Dr. Su’s project will provide a comprehensive understanding of how increased levels of RAD21/cohesion drives prostate cancer progression by promoting DNA damage repair and altering 3D genome architecture. These findings will provide insights into novel therapeutic strategies for targeting vulnerabilities of advanced prostate cancers that harbor high levels of RAD21.