Androgens are heavily involved in developing and maintaining the functions of their target organs by controlling the processes of survival, apoptosis, proliferation or cell differentiation. The action of these hormones is relayed by the androgen receptor (AR) whose activity is highly regulated by its interaction with protein partners. In epithelial cell proliferation in androgen-sensitive, we identified the nucléophosmine/B23.1 (NPM) as a new partner of the androgen receptor. We have shown that NPM is overexpressed in prostate tumor tissue compared to healthy tissue at biopsy, and it controls the level of accumulation of AR and androgen-dependent transcription in prostate cancer cells. These arguments suggest that NPM may be the cause of an expression and an altered activity of AR, and thus participate in prostate tumorigenesis
