SMAD4-dependent barrier constrains prostate cancer growth and metastatic progression.

ABSTRACT: Effective clinical management of prostate cancer (PCA) has been challenged by significant intratumoural heterogeneity on the genomic and pathological levels and limited understanding of the genetic elements governing disease progression. Here, we exploited the experimental merits of the mouse to test the hypothesis that pathways constraining progression might be activated in indolent Pten-null mouse prostate tumours and that inactivation of such progression barriers in mice would engender a metastasis-prone condition. Comparative transcriptomic and canonical pathway analyses, followed by biochemical confirmation, of normal prostate epithelium versus poorly progressive Pten-null prostate cancers revealed robust activation of the TGFβ/BMP-SMAD4 signalling axis. The functional relevance of SM

SUBMITTER: Ding Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3753179 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature