RAT AND HUMAN MASPINS - STRUCTURES, METASTATIC SUPPRESSOR ACTIVITY AND MUTATION IN PROSTATE-CANCER CELLS

The rat homologue of human maspin cDNA was cloned. The deduced amino a cid sequence of rat maspin was homologous to human maspin with 88% of the amino acids conserved. Rat maspin mRNA was detected in rat mammary gland, vagina, urinary bladder, thymus, small intestine, skin, ventra l prostate, seminal vesicles, and thyroid but not in many other organs , such as heart, lung, liver, brain and kidney. Rat maspin cDNA retrov irally introduced into highly metastatic Dunning AT3.1 rat prostate ca ncer cells did not suppress metastasis of these tumor cells in Copenha gen rats. Maspin mRNA was detected in 5/10 human prostatic carcinoma t issue samples. Two human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and LNCaP, a nd two human prostatic carcinoma and two benign prostatic hyperplasia tissue samples contained maspin mRNA having an isoleucine to valine mu tation at amino acid 319. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.