PATE, a gene expressed in prostate cancer, normal prostate, and testis, identified by a functional genomic approach

doi:10.1073/pnas.052713699

PATE, a gene expressed in prostate cancer, normal prostate, and testis, identified by a functional genomic approach

^*Laboratory of Molecular Biology and ^‡Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892

Contributed by Ira Pastan

Abstract

To identify target antigens for prostate cancer therapy, we have combined computer-based screening of the human expressed sequence tag database and experimental expression analysis to identify genes that are expressed in normal prostate and prostate cancer but not in essential human tissues. Using this approach, we identified a gene that is expressed specifically in prostate cancer, normal prostate, and testis. The gene has a 1.5-kb transcript that encodes a protein of 14 kDa. We named this gene PATE (expressed in prostate and testis). In situ hybridization shows that PATE mRNA is expressed in the epithelial cells of prostate cancers and in normal prostate. Transfection of the PATE cDNA with a Myc epitope tag into NIH 3T3 cells and subsequent cell fractionation analysis shows that the PATE protein is localized in the membrane fraction of the cell. Analysis of the amino acid sequence of PATE shows that it has structural similarities to a group of proteins known as three-finger toxins, which includes the extracellular domain of the type β transforming growth factor receptor. Restricted expression of PATE makes it a potential candidate for the immunotherapy of prostate cancer.

immunotherapy‖cancer vaccine‖snake toxin‖membrane protein

Footnotes

↵ † Present address: Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia, Cellulare e Molecolare, Universitá degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.
↵ § To whom reprint requests should be addressed at: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Building 37, Room 5106, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 37 Convent Drive, Molecular Simulation Center 4264, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264. E-mail: pasta{at}helix.nih.gov.
Data deposition: The sequence reported in this paper has been deposited in the GenBank database (accession no. AF462605).
Abbreviations:

EST,

expressed sequence tag;

PATE,

expressed in prostate and testis;

RACE,

rapid amplification of cDNA ends;

ARE,

androgen response element(s)