A NOVEL HUMAN PROSTATE-SPECIFIC, ANDROGEN-REGULATED HOMEOBOX GENE (NKX3.1) THAT MAPS TO 8P21, A REGION FREQUENTLY DELETED IN PROSTATE-CANCER

We have isolated a prostate-specific gene (NKX3.1) in humans that is h omologous to the Drosophila NK homeobox gene family, Northern blot ana lyses indicate that this gene is expressed at high levels in adult pro state and at a much lower level in testis, but is expressed little or not at all in several other tissues. In an androgen-dependent prostate carcinoma line, LNCaP, NKX3.1 mRNA is expressed at a basal level that was increased markedly upon androgen stimulation; the NKX3.1 mRNA was undetectable in several other human tumor cell lines including two an drogen-independent prostate carcinoma lints. The NKX3.1 gene maps to c hromosome band 8p21, a region frequently reported to undergo a loss of heterozygosity associated with tissue dedifferentiation and loss of a ndrogen responsiveness during the progression of prostate cancer. Base d on these data we propose that NKX3.1 is a candidate gene for playing a role in the opposing processes of androgen-driven differentiation o f prostatic tissue and loss of that differentiation during the progres sion of prostate cancer. (C) 1997 Academic Press.