Prostate-specific transcription factor hPSE is translated only in normal prostate epithelial cells

We recently cloned a novel transcription factor gene, hPSE, which belongs t o the Ets gene family. hPSE mRNA was expressed specifically in prostate gla ndular epithelial cells and also in the human prostate carcinoma cell lines PC-3 and LNCaP, On the other hand, on immunoblot analysis with anti-hPSE a ntiserum, hPSE protein was detected only in human prostate tissue samples a nd not in PC-3 or LNCaP culture tells. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hyb ridization analysis revealed that hPSE protein was translated in normal pro state glandular epithelial cells, but not in carcinoma cells with hPSE tran scripts. These findings suggest that expression of hPSE is regulated transl ationally in prostate epithelial cells and that hPSE protein is a candidate for a marker distinguishing normal cells from canter cells in the prostate . It appeared that the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions of hPSE transcripts might be necessary for translational control of hPSE, on the basis of resul ts of transfection analysis in non-prostate lineage cells (HEK-293) using s ome deletion mutants of hPSE cDNA.