Tissue transglutaminase interacts with protein kinase A anchor protein 13 in prostate cancer

We have previously described that tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is a high level phenotypic biomarker in prostate cancer, which is down regulated in prostate cancer and surrounding premalignant field compared to benign prostate glands. To understand the function of tTG in prostate cancer, we sought to identify proteins that interact with the transglutaminase moiety of tTG using a human prostate cancer complementary deoxyribonucleic acid library in a Yeast 2-Hybrid system. The Yeast 2-Hybrid experiments identified a strong and novel interaction between the transglutaminase moiety and protein kinase A anchor protein 13 (AKAP13), which was quantified by β-galactosidase assay, confirmed in vitro by immunoprecipitation experiments using PC3 prostate cancer cell lysates, and in vivo colocalization was confirmed by immunofluorescence studies in PC3 cells. Because AKAP plays a major role in protein kinase A and Rho protein mediated signaling, functional studies are underway to elucidate the significance of tTG-AKAP13 interaction in prostate cancer.