TMPRSS2/ERG promotes epithelial to mesenchymal transition through the ZEB1/ZEB2 axis in a prostate cancer model.

ABSTRACT: Prostate cancer is the most common non-dermatologic malignancy in men in the Western world. Recently, a frequent chromosomal aberration fusing androgen regulated TMPRSS2 promoter and the ERG gene (TMPRSS2/ERG) was discovered in prostate cancer. Several studies demonstrated cooperation between TMPRSS2/ERG and other defective pathways in cancer progression. However, the unveiling of more specific pathways in which TMPRSS2/ERG takes part, requires further investigation. Using immortalized prostate epithelial cells we were able to show that TMPRSS2/ERG over-expressing cells undergo an Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), manifested by acquisition of mesenchymal morphology and markers as well as migration and invasion capabilities. These findings were corroborated in vivo, where the cont

SUBMITTER: Leshem O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3128608 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature