title: Critical Function of PRDM2 in the Neoplastic Growth of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors.
abstract: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) derive from primordial germ cells. Their maturation is blocked at different stages, reflecting histological tumor subtypes. A common genetic alteration in TGCT is a deletion of the chromosome 1 short arm, where thePRDM2gene, belonging to thePositiveRegulatory domain gene (PRDM) family, is located. Expression ofPRDM2gene is shifted in different human tumors, where the expression of the two principal protein forms coded byPRDM2gene, RIZ1 and RIZ2, is frequently unbalanced. Therefore,PRDM2is actually considered a candidate tumor suppressor gene in different types of cancer. Although recent studies have demonstrated thatPRDMgene family members have a pivotal role during the early stages of testicular development, no information are actually available on the involvement of these genes in TGCTs. In this article we show by qRT-PCR analysis thatPRDM2expression level is modulated by proliferation and differentiation agents such as estradiol, whose exposure during fetal life is probably an important risk factor for TGCTs development in adulthood. Furthermore in normal and cancer germ cell lines, PRDM2 binds estradiol receptor α (ERα) and influences proliferation, survival and apoptosis, as previously reported using MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, suggesting a potential tumor-suppressor role in TGCT formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences "Vincenzo Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso 86100, Italy. erika.dizazzo@unimol.it.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Zazzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences "Vincenzo Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso 86100, Italy. carola.porcile@unimol.it.
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Porcile
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences "Vincenzo Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso 86100, Italy. silvia.bartollino@unimol.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bartollino
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences "Vincenzo Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso 86100, Italy. moncharmont@unimol.it.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moncharmont
keywords: PRDM gene family; RIZ1; cancer; cell proliferation; testicular germ cell tumors