ENO1 Is More Abundant than ENO2 on the Surface of Metastatic and Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer Cells and Upregulated in High-Risk Prostate Tumors
6 affiliations
- 1Center for Health Disparities and Molecular Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Mortensen Hall 142, 11085 Campus Street, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
- 2Department of Basic Sciences, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
- 3Department of Pathology and Human Anatomy, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
- 4Department of Radiation Medicine, James M. Slater, MD Proton Treatment and Research Center, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
- 5Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14215, USA
- 6Loma Linda University Cancer Center, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA
Abstract
Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains lethal, and lineage plasticity drives a subset of tumors to neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), most often treatment-emergent (t-NEPC). Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), the target of radioligand therapies for advanced prostate cancer (PCa), is heterogeneously expressed across metastatic sites but lost during neuroendocrine differentiation, excluding many patients from these therapies. The glycolytic enzyme Enolase 1 (ENO1) is a promising alternative target because it localizes to the surface of human tumors and promotes cancer growth and metastasis. However, it remains understudied in advanced PCa compared with ENO2 (neuron-specific enolase), a canonical neuroendocrine marker. We report here that total and cell surface ENO1 are more abundant than ENO2 in PSMA-negative mCRPC and NEPC cells. ENO1 silencing reduced cell proliferation and clonogenic growth even when triggering ENO2 upregulation. Targeting cell surface ENO1 with a monoclonal antibody decreased proliferation, clonogenicity, and tumorsphere formation in mCRPC cells, including docetaxel-resistant cells. This was associated with S-phase accumulation, elevated phospho histone p-H2A.X, and increased apoptosis. Significantly higher transcript expression of ENO1 than ENO2 was observed in clinical prostate tumors, including high-Gleason and neuroendocrine tumors, concomitant with elevated expression of their transcriptional regulator MYC. These findings position cell-surface ENO1 as a therapeutic and theranostic target for PSMA-low, treatment-refractory PCa.
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BibTeX
@article{santiago2026eno1,
title = {{ENO1 Is More Abundant than ENO2 on the Surface of Metastatic and Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer Cells and Upregulated in High-Risk Prostate Tumors}},
author = {Krystal R. Santiago and Alfonso M. Durán and Lemti M. Nyirendah and Julia Soliz and Ann Morcos and Adelaide V. Makamure and Nathaly P. Manrique and Kathleen Escobar-Acuña and Kristen Whitley and Shriya Roy and Nathan R. Wall and Bhaskar Das and Frankis G. Almaguel and Carlos A. Casiano},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219714},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9714},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - ENO1 Is More Abundant than ENO2 on the Surface of Metastatic and Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer Cells and Upregulated in High-Risk Prostate Tumors
AU - Krystal R. Santiago
AU - Alfonso M. Durán
AU - Lemti M. Nyirendah
AU - Julia Soliz
AU - Ann Morcos
AU - Adelaide V. Makamure
AU - Nathaly P. Manrique
AU - Kathleen Escobar-Acuña
AU - Kristen Whitley
AU - Shriya Roy
AU - Nathan R. Wall
AU - Bhaskar Das
AU - Frankis G. Almaguel
AU - Carlos A. Casiano
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219714
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9714
AB - Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains lethal, and lineage plasticity drives a subset of tumors to neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), most often treatment-emergent (t-NEPC). Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), the target of radioligand therapies for advanced prostate cancer (PCa), is heterogeneously expressed across metastatic sites but lost during neuroendocrine differentiation, excluding many patients from these therapies. The glycolytic enzyme Enolase 1 (ENO1) is a promising alternative target because it localizes to the surface of human tumors and promotes cancer growth and metastasis. However, it remains understudied in advanced PCa compared with ENO2 (neuron-specific enolase), a canonical neuroendocrine marker. We report here that total and cell surface ENO1 are more abundant than ENO2 in PSMA-negative mCRPC and NEPC cells. ENO1 silencing reduced cell proliferation and clonogenic growth even when triggering ENO2 upregulation. Targeting cell surface ENO1 with a monoclonal antibody decreased proliferation, clonogenicity, and tumorsphere formation in mCRPC cells, including docetaxel-resistant cells. This was associated with S-phase accumulation, elevated phospho histone p-H2A.X, and increased apoptosis. Significantly higher transcript expression of ENO1 than ENO2 was observed in clinical prostate tumors, including high-Gleason and neuroendocrine tumors, concomitant with elevated expression of their transcriptional regulator MYC. These findings position cell-surface ENO1 as a therapeutic and theranostic target for PSMA-low, treatment-refractory PCa.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -