Parp7 generates an ADP-ribosyl degron that controls negative feedback of androgen signaling
AbstractThe androgen receptor (AR) tranduces the effects of circulating and tumor-derived androgens to the nucleus through ligand-induced changes in protein conformation, localization, and engagement with chromatin binding sites. Understanding these events and their integration with signal transduction is critical for defining how AR drives prostate cancer and unveiling pathway features that are amenable to therapeutic intervention. Here, we describe a novel post-transcriptional mechanism that controls AR protein levels on chromatin and associated gene output which is based on a highly selective, inducible degradation mechanism. We find that the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase PARP7 generates an ADP-ribosyl degron on a single cysteine within the DNA binding domain of AR, which is then recognized by the ADP- ribose reader domain in the ubiquitin E3 ligase DTX2 and degraded by the proteasome. Mathematical modeling of the pathway suggested that PARP7 ADP-ribosylates chromatin-bound AR, a prediction that was validated in cells using an AR mutant that undergoes nuclear import but fails to bind DNA. Lysine- independent, non-conventional ubiquitin conjugation to ADP-ribosyl-cysteine and AR degradation by the proteasome forms the basis of a negative feedback loop that regulates specific modules of AR target genes. Our data expand the repertoire of mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase enzymes to include gene regulation based on highly selective protein degradation. One Sentence SummaryPARP7 mono-ADP-ribosylates the androgen receptor on Cys620 to mark the androgen receptor for ubiquitin conjugation by an E3 ligase with ADP-ribose reader function, resulting in in negative feedback of AR-dependent gene expression.