Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42420589›Full record

ArticleOncogene2026

SETDB1-mediated repression of RhoB promotes EMT and metastatic progression in prostate cancer.

Han Cong, Fatemeh Seilani, Ryan Goettl, Daheng He, Jinpeng Liu, Chi Wang, Xiaoqi Liu, Ruixin Wang, Ka-Wing Fong

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Oncogene, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Han CongDepartment of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Fatemeh SeilaniDepartment of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Ryan GoettlDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Daheng HeDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Jinpeng LiuDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Chi WangDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Xiaoqi LiuDepartment of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6613-1746
Ruixin WangDepartment of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. wycwrx328109@gmail.com.
Ka-Wing FongDepartment of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. willfongkw@uky.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6995-0264

Funding

University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Support Grant ECIA SupplementP30CA177558 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · PI Jennifer F Rogers · 2013 to 2026
$38.3M
University of Kentucky Center for Cancer MetabolismP20GM121327 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · PI Binhua P Zhou · 2017 to 2026
$25.0M
American Cancer Society (American Cancer Society, Inc.) RSG-26-1507013-01-TBE-SUNCI NIH HHS P30 CA177558NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM121327
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains a clinical challenge, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to metastatic progression and reduced response to therapy. However, the upstream epigenetic mechanisms that sustain EMT programs in advanced prostate cancer (PCa) are not fully defined. We identify the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase SET domain bifurcated 1 (SETDB1) as a key regulator of EMT and metastasis through direct repression of RhoB, the small GTPase. SETDB1 is genomically amplified and transcriptionally upregulated in metastatic CRPC, and SETDB1 depletion reduces cell migration, invasion, and metastatic dissemination. Integrated chromatin profiling and transcriptomic analyses demonstrate that SETDB1 occupies the RhoB promoter and mediates its transcriptional silencing through H3K9 methylation. Restoration of RhoB reverses EMT gene expression and suppresses invasive behavior, whereas RhoB knockdown rescues the effects of SETDB1 depletion, establishing RhoB as a critical downstream effector of SETDB1 function. Androgen signaling inhibitor-resistant PCa models exhibit RhoB loss and EMT activation, linking this axis to therapy-resistant phenotypes. Finally, antisense oligonucleotide-mediated SETDB1 silencing restores RhoB expression and suppresses EMT and invasion in CRPC cell models. Together, these findings define a SETDB1-RhoB epigenetic pathway that promotes EMT and metastatic progression in PCa and may be therapeutically targeted in advanced disease.

Indexed as

Epithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionHistone-Lysine N-MethyltransferaseProstatic NeoplasmsProstatic Neoplasms, Castration-ResistantrhoB GTP-Binding ProteinAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell MovementDisease ProgressionGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleMiceNeoplasm MetastasisPromoter Regions, GeneticHistone-Lysine N-MethyltransferaserhoB GTP-Binding ProteinSETDB1 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID42420589
PMCPMC13433250

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.