TENB2, a proteoglycan identified in prostate cancer that is associated with disease progression and androgen independence.
TENB2 encodes a putative transmembrane proteoglycan, related to the EGF/heregulin family of growth factors and follistatin, which has been identified through the application of a differential display technique to a xenograft model of prostate cancer. Northern analysis and competitive PCR were used to demonstrate significantly increased TENB2 expression (p = 0.0003) on the acquisition of androgen independence in the model system. TENB2 is also overexpressed in clinical prostate carcinoma vs. its benign counterpart (p < 0.0001), with particular prominence in high-grade tumours, and shows a high degree of tissue specificity, being detected on a multitissue Northern array exclusively in brain and prostate material. Studies of recombinant protein expression demonstrate that TENB2 is a chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan. The presence of an EGF and 2 follistatin domains suggests a role in the regulation of growth factor signalling either as a ligand precursor, a membrane-bound receptor or as a binding protein for growth factors. These data are indicative of a significant role for TENB2 in the progression of poorly differentiated tumour types, with implications for prostate cancer detection, prognosis and therapy.
Glynne-Jones
E
E
Tenovus Cancer Research Centre, Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom. evegj@hotmail.com
Harper
M E
ME
Seery
L T
LT
James
R
R
Anglin
I
I
Morgan
H E
HE
Taylor
K M
KM
Gee
J M
JM
Nicholson
R I
RI
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000032:analysis; D006224:Cricetinae; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology
D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans; C038142:chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates