2015年12月31日訊 /生物谷BIOON/ --近日,來自美國艾默裡大學醫學院的研究人員在國際學術期刊cancer research上發表了一項最新研究進展,他們發現轉錄因子SOX4在腫瘤抑制因子PTEN缺失誘導的前列腺癌進展中發揮重要作用,這一發現對於前列腺癌聯合治療方法的開發具有一定意義。
前列腺癌是美國男性中一種最為常見的癌症類型之一,嚴重威脅男性健康,許多研究對前列腺癌發生發展機制進行了深入探討,但目前對於前列腺癌發生發展機制的了解仍然不完整。
SOX4是一個在許多類型人類癌症中都存在過表達的重要轉錄因子,其中包括前列腺癌,這表明SOX4可能參與了前列腺癌的發生,為了對這一假設進行驗證,艾默裡大學醫學院的研究人員進行了一系列研究。
在這項研究中,研究人員通過在腫瘤抑制因子Pten缺失的前列腺癌小鼠模型中敲除SOX4對上述假設進行了探究。研究人員發現在成年小鼠的前列腺上皮中完全敲除SOX4能夠強烈抑制Pten缺失誘導的腫瘤進展。隨後他們又對其中的機制進行了分析,發現SOX4缺失能夠降低AKT和β-catenin的激活,從而減弱腫瘤的侵襲性。
研究人員更進一步發現PTEN缺失會誘導SOX4表達,結果導致PI3K-AKT-mTOR信號途徑的激活,從而在SOX4和該信號通路之間形成了一個正反饋迴路。
總得來說,這項研究發現SOX4是前列腺癌中PTEN-PI3K-AKT信號途徑上的一個重要組成成分,這一發現對於開發治療原發前列腺癌以及晚期前列腺癌的聯合治療方法具有一定啟示。(生物谷Bioon.com)
SOX4 is essential for prostate tumorigenesis initiated by PTEN ablation
Birdal Bilir1, Adeboye O Osunkoya2, W. Guy Wiles IV3, Soma Sannigrahi2, Veronique Lefebvre4, Daniel Metzger5, Demetri D Spyropoulos6, W. David Martin3, and Carlos S. Moreno
Understanding remains incomplete of the mechanisms underlying initiation and progression of prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men. The transcription factor SOX4 is overexpressed in many human cancers, including prostate cancer, suggesting it may participate in prostate tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigated this possibility by genetically deleting Sox4 in a mouse model of prostate cancer initiated by loss of the tumor suppressor Pten. We found that specific homozygous deletion of Sox4 in the adult prostate epithelium strongly inhibited tumor progression initiated by homozygous loss of Pten. Mechanistically, Sox4 ablation reduced activation of AKT and 尾-catenin, leading to an attenuated invasive phenotype. Furthermore, SOX4 expression was induced by Pten loss as a result of the activation of PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling, suggesting a positive feedback loop between SOX4 and PI3K-AKT-mTOR activity. Collectively, our findings establish that SOX4 is a critical component of the PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway in prostate cancer, with potential implications for combination targeted therapies against both primary and advanced prostate cancers.