Identification of genes potentially involved in the acquisition of androgen-independent and metastatic tumor growth in an autochthonous genetically engineered mouse prostate cancer model

BACKGROUND. A major focus of prostate cancer research has been to identify genes that are deregulated during tumor progression, potentially providing diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. METHODS. We have employed serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) and microarray hybridization to identify alterations that occur during malignant transformation in the Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of the Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) model. Many of these alterations were validated by real-time PCR (rtPCR). RESULTS. We identified several hundred mRNAs that were deregulated. Cluster analysis of microarray profiles with samples from various stages of the disease demonstrated that androgen-independent (AI) primary tumors are similar to metastases; 180 transcripts have expression patterns suggesting an involvement in the genesis of late-stage tumors, and our data support a role for phospholipase A2 group IIA in the acquisition of their highly aggressive characteristics. CONCLUSIONS. Our analyses identified well-characterized genes that were previously known to be involved in prostate cancer, validating our study, and also uncovered transcripts that had not previously been implicated in prostate cancer progression.