Evidence for downregulation of calcium signaling proteins in advanced mouse adenocarcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the leading cancer related death in America. Gleason grading is currently the predominant method for prediction, with only few biomarkers available. More biomarkers, especially as they relate to cancer progression are desirable.


METHODS
The abundance of several important proteins in prostate tissue was compared between wild-type mouse dorsal prostate and well-differentiated transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) mouse dorsal prostates, and between wild-type mouse dorsal prostate and poorly-differentiated TRAMP mouse tumor tissue. 2DIGE method in conjunction with MALDI-ToF and Western blots was used to determine differential expression.


RESULTS
In TRAMP dorsal prostates with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, there were few significant changes in the protein abundances compared to wild-type dorsal prostates, with the exception of increases in proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and beta tubulin, two proteins implicated in cell proliferation, and a more than 2-fold increase in Hsp60, a protein involved in the suppression of apoptosis. In the poorly-differentiated tumors, the changes in protein abundance were substantial. While some of those changes could be related to the disappearance of stromal tissue or the appearance of epithelial tissue, other changes in protein abundance were more significant to the cancer development itself. Most notable was the overall decrease in calcium homeostasis proteins with a 10-fold decrease in calreticulin and Hsp70 and a 40-fold decrease in creatine kinase bb in the cancerous tissue.


CONCLUSIONS
Proteomics of TRAMP mice provide an excellent method to observe changes in protein abundance, revealing changes in pathways during cancer progression.
Ruddat
Viola C
VC
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
Whitman
Stephanie
S
Klein
Russell D
RD
Fischer
Susan M
SM
Holman
Theodore R
TR
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D015536:Down-Regulation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D040901:Proteomics
D011506:Proteins