Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0376358 (prostate cancer)
 59,338 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) correlates with tumour cell invasiveness and helps to determine the prognosis of prostate and other cancers. The purpose of this study was to establish in prostate cancer, the ets family and AP-1 complex transcription factors that might activate the inducible AP-1 and AP-1/PEA3 elements of the uPA enhancer. uPA and uPAR were expressed preferentially in adenocarcinoma cells, but not the stroma of high grade prostate cancers. The ets family paralogues Fli-1 and Elf-1 were also highly expressed in adenocarcinoma cells of the majority of cancers, while Erg 1,2 and Ets-2 were expressed in a minority of cancers and Elk-1, PEA3 and PU.1 were minimally expressed. A minority of cancers expressed high levels of cytoplasmic and/or nuclear c-Jun and c-Fos transcription factors. We speculate as to the molecular basis for such expression.
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PMID:Expression of urokinase plasminogen activator and receptor in conjunction with the ets family and AP-1 complex transcription factors in high grade prostate cancers. 1133 30

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) contributes to tumor progression in prostate cancer (CaP). We have previously shown that u-PA expression is upregulated through the AP-1 and PEA3 sites and repressed by androgen. However, signaling pathways mediating u-PA gene expression in CaP are not delineated. We hypothesized that MAPK pathways mediate u-PA in CaP, and thereby studied specific ERK, JNK, and P38-MAPK pathway mutant constructs and inhibitors in vitro. Human, androgen insensitive CaP PC3 cells stably transfected with the androgen receptor expression vector and vector alone were used. A u-PA promoter CAT vector transiently expressed with dominant negative mutant signaling constructs was studied. All mutants drastically reduced u-PA promoter activity. Furthermore, inhibition of PI3K, an upstream regulator in the JNK/SAPK pathway, decreased u-PA promoter transcription. Collectively, these results show that MAPK pathways ERK, JNK/SAPK, and P38-MAPK represent a significant component in the regulation of u-PA expression in human CaP.
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PMID:Signal transduction-mediated regulation of urokinase gene expression in human prostate cancer. 1167 74

Although common in hematologic and mesenchymal malignancies, recurrent gene fusions have not been well characterized in epithelial carcinomas. Recently, using a novel bioinformatic approach, we identified recurrent gene fusions between TMPRSS2 and the ETS family members ERG or ETV1 in the majority of prostate cancers. Here, we interrogated the expression of all ETS family members in prostate cancer profiling studies and identified marked overexpression of ETV4 in 2 of 98 cases. In one such case, we confirmed the overexpression of ETV4 using quantitative PCR, and by rapid amplification of cDNA ends, quantitative PCR, and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we show that the TMPRSS2 (21q22) and ETV4 (17q21) loci are fused in this case. This result defines a third molecular subtype of prostate cancer and supports the hypothesis that dysregulation of ETS family members through fusions with TMRPSS2 may be an initiating event in prostate cancer development.
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PMID:TMPRSS2:ETV4 gene fusions define a third molecular subtype of prostate cancer. 1658 60

Prostate cancer is a common and clinically heterogeneous disease with marked variability in progression. The recent identification of gene fusions of the 5'-untranslated region of TMPRSS2 (21q22.3) with the ETS transcription factor family members, either ERG (21q22.2), ETV1 (7p21.2), or ETV4 (17q21), suggests a mechanism for overexpression of the ETS genes in the majority of prostate cancers. In the current study using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we identified the TMPRSS2:ERG rearrangements in 49.2% of 118 primary prostate cancers and 41.2% of 18 hormone-naive lymph node metastases. The FISH assay detected intronic deletions between ERG and TMPRSS2 resulting in TMPRSS2:ERG fusion in 60.3% (35 of 58) of the primary TMPRSS2:ERG prostate cancers and 42.9% (3 of 7) of the TMPRSS2:ERG hormone-naive lymph node metastases. A significant association was observed between TMPRSS2:ERG rearranged tumors through deletions and higher tumor stage and the presence of metastatic disease involving pelvic lymph nodes. Using 100K oligonucleotide single nucleotide polymorphism arrays, a homogeneous deletion site between ERG and TMPRSS2 on chromosome 21q22.2-3 was identified with two distinct subclasses distinguished by the start point of the deletion at either 38.765 or 38.911 Mb. This study confirms that TMPRSS2:ERG is fused in approximately half of the prostate cancers through deletion of genomic DNA between ERG and TMPRSS2. The deletion as cause of TMPRSS2:ERG fusion is associated with clinical features for prostate cancer progression compared with tumors that lack the TMPRSS2:ERG rearrangement.
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PMID:TMPRSS2:ERG fusion-associated deletions provide insight into the heterogeneity of prostate cancer. 1695 Nov 39

Recurrent chromosomal rearrangements have not been well characterized in common carcinomas. We describe the use of a novel bioinformatics approach to discover candidate oncogenic chromosomal aberrations on the basis of outlier gene expression called COPA (cancer outlier profile analysis). We demonstrate how this approach led to the identification of gene fusions of the 5'-untranslated region of TMPRSS2 (21q22.3), an androgen regulated gene, with the ETS transcription factor family members, either ERG (21q22.2), ETV1 (7p21.2), or ETV4(17q21). These novel gene fusions suggest a mechanism for overexpression of the ETS genes in the majority of prostate cancers identified through PSA screening. Considering the high incidence of prostate cancer and the high frequency of this gene fusion, the TMPRSS2-ETS gene fusions are the most common genetic aberration so far described in human malignancies. The clinical implications of this discovery are significant for diagnosis and potentially for the development of targeted therapy.
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PMID:Bioinformatics approach leads to the discovery of the TMPRSS2:ETS gene fusion in prostate cancer. 1698 28

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is now the second most common cause of male cancer-related mortality. Although docetaxel has recently been shown to extend the survival of patients with CRPC in two large randomised phase III studies, subsequent treatment options remain limited for these patients. A greater understanding of the molecular causes of castration resistance is allowing a more rational approach to the development of new drugs and many new agents are now in clinical development. Therapeutic targets include the adrenal steroid synthesis pathway, androgen receptor signalling, the epidermal growth factor receptor family, insulin growth factor-1 receptor, histone deacetylase, heat shock protein 90 and the tumour vasculature. Drugs against these targets are giving an insight into the molecular pathogenesis of this disease and promise to improve patient quality of life and survival. Finally, the recent discovery of chromosomal translocations resulting in the upregulation of one of at least 3 ETS genes (ERG, ETV1, ETV4) may lead to novel agents for the treatment of this disease.
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PMID:Improving the outcome of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer through rational drug development. 1698 3

We recently reported the identification of recurrent gene fusions in the majority of prostate cancers involving the 5' untranslated region of the androgen-regulated gene TMPRSS2 and the ETS family members ERG, ETV1, and ETV4. Here we report the noninvasive detection of these gene fusions in the urine of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. By quantitative polymerase chain reaction, we assessed the expression of ERG and TMPRSS2:ERG transcripts in urine samples obtained after prostatic massage from 19 patients (11 prebiopsy and 8 pre-radical prostatectomy) with prostate cancer. We observed a strong concordance between ERG overexpression and TMPRSS2:ERG expression, with 8 of 19 (42%) patients having detectable TMPRSS2:ERG transcripts in their urine. Importantly, by fluorescence in situ hybridization, we confirmed the presence or the absence of TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusions in matched prostate cancer tissue samples from three of three patients with fusion transcripts in their urine and from two of two patients without fusion transcripts in their urine. These results demonstrate that TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusions can be detected in the urine of patients with prostate cancer and support larger studies on prospective cohorts for noninvasive detection of prostate cancer.
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PMID:Noninvasive detection of TMPRSS2:ERG fusion transcripts in the urine of men with prostate cancer. 1705 88

Translocations fusing the strong androgen-responsive gene, TMPRSS2, with ERG or other oncogenic ETS factors may facilitate prostate cancer development. Here, we studied 18 advanced prostate cancers for ETS factor alterations, using reverse transcription-PCR and DNA and RNA array technologies, and identified putative ERG downstream gene targets from the microarray data of 410 prostate samples. Out of the 27 ETS factors, ERG was most frequently overexpressed. Seven cases showed TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusions, whereas the TMPRSS2:ETV4 fusion was seen in one case. In five out of six tumors with high ERG expression, array-CGH analysis revealed interstitial 2.8 Mb deletions between the TMPRSS2 and ERG loci, or smaller, unbalanced rearrangements. In silico analysis of the ERG gene coexpression patterns revealed an association with high expression of the histone deacetylase 1 gene, and low expression of its target genes. Furthermore, we observed increased expression of WNT-associated pathways and down-regulation of tumor necrosis factor and cell death pathways. In summary, our data indicate that the TMPRSS2:ERG translocation is common in advanced prostate cancer and occurs by virtue of unbalanced genomic rearrangements. Activation of ERG by fusion with TMPRSS2 may lead to epigenetic reprogramming, WNT signaling, and down-regulation of cell death pathways, implicating ERG in several hallmarks of cancer with potential therapeutic importance.
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PMID:TMPRSS2 fusions with oncogenic ETS factors in prostate cancer involve unbalanced genomic rearrangements and are associated with HDAC1 and epigenetic reprogramming. 1707 40

Recently, a unique fusion between the prostate-specific, androgen-regulated TMPRSS2 gene and the ETS genes ERG, ETV1, or ETV4 has been described in clinical prostate cancer. We investigated mechanisms of expression of four ETS genes, ERG, ETV1, ETV4, and FLI1, in 11 xenografts representing different stages of prostate cancer. All five androgen-dependent xenografts showed as major transcript overexpression of two splice variants of TMPRSS2:ERG, linking TMPRSS2 exon 1 or 2 sequences to ERG exon 4. In one of two androgen-sensitive xenografts, fusion transcripts of TMPRSS2 and ETV1 were detected. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization indicated both interstitial deletions and translocations as mechanisms of TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion. Importantly, TMPRSS2 to ERG fusions were also observed in three of four androgen-independent, androgen receptor (AR)-negative xenografts and in two AR-negative clinical prostate cancer specimens; however, the fusion gene was not expressed. In almost all AR-negative tumor samples, overexpression of wild-type ETV4 or FLI1 was detected. Combined, our observations indicate a key role of fusion of TMPRSS2 and ETS genes in most androgen-regulated prostate cancers, which might be bypassed by androgen-independent expression of wild-type ETS factors in late-stage disease.
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PMID:TMPRSS2:ERG fusion by translocation or interstitial deletion is highly relevant in androgen-dependent prostate cancer, but is bypassed in late-stage androgen receptor-negative prostate cancer. 1710 2

Novel recurrent gene fusions between the androgen-regulated gene TMPRSS2 and the ETS family members ERG, ETV1, or ETV4 have been recently identified as a common molecular event in prostate cancer development. We comprehensively analyzed the frequency and risk of disease progression for the TMPRSS2 and ETS family genes rearrangements in a cohort of 96 American men surgically treated for clinically localized prostate cancer. Using three break apart (TMPRSS2, ERG, ETV4) and one fusion (TMPRSS:ETV1) fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays, we identified rearrangements in TMPRSS2, ERG, ETV1, and ETV4 in 65, 55, 2, and 2% of cases, respectively. Overall, 54 and 2% of cases demonstrated TMPRSS2:ERG and TMPRSS2:ETV1 fusions, respectively. As intronic loss of genomic DNA between TMPRSS2 and ERG has been identified as a mechanism of TMPRSS2:ERG fusion, our assays allowed us to detect deletion of the 3' end of TMPRSS2 and the 5' end of ERG in 41 and 39% of cases rearranged for respective genes. Prostate cancers demonstrating TMPRSS2 gene rearrangement were associated with high pathologic stage (P=0.04). Our results confirm that recurrent chromosomal aberrations in TMPRSS2 and/or ETS family members are found in about 70% of prostate cancers. Importantly, we define a novel approach to study these gene fusions and identified cases where TMPRSS2 was rearranged without rearrangement of ERG, ETV1 or ETV4 and cases with ETS family gene rearrangement without TMPRSS2 rearrangement, suggesting that novel 5' and 3' partners may be involved in gene fusions in prostate cancer.
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PMID:Comprehensive assessment of TMPRSS2 and ETS family gene aberrations in clinically localized prostate cancer. 1733 43


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