Patent Application: US-85312101-A

Abstract:
the present invention pertains to a monoclonal antibody , or fragment thereof , having an antigen - binding specific region for nkx3 . 1 and to a hybridoma cell line for producing the monoclonal antibody . the present invention also pertains to a method for detecting the presence of nkx3 . 1 in a sample . the method comprises contacting a biopsy tissue sample with a monoclonal antibody , or a fragment thereof , having an antigen - binding specific region for nkx3 . 1 , under conditions permitting immunospecific binding between the monoclonal antibody , or a fragment thereof , and nkx3 . 1 in the sample ; and detecting whether immunospecific binding has occurred to detect the presence of nkx3 . 1 in the sample .

Description:
the generation of mutant mouse models for investigating oncogenic progression is particularly valuable for understanding human prostate cancer , since little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease . here we show that loss of the homeobox gene nkx3 . 1 and the lipid phosphatase pten represent critical steps in a pathway of prostate carcinogenesis , and that the corresponding mutant mice model human prostate cancer . first , we find that nkx3 . 1 is a prostate - specific tumor suppressor gene , and that loss - of - function mutant mice display histopathological defects characteristic of prostate cancer initiation in humans . secondly , nkx3 . 1 cooperates with pten in prostate cancer progression , based on the accelerated formation of lesions resembling ductal carcinoma in situ in compound mutant mice . thirdly , inactivation of nkx3 . 1 occurs through loss of protein expression in these mouse lesions as well as in human prostate cancer specimens . finally , we present evidence that the biochemical mechanism for nkx3 . 1 and pten cooperativity involves their independent activation of akt ( protein kinase b ), a key regulator of cell growth and survival . we propose that interactions between tissue - specific regulators and broad - spectrum tumor suppressors underlie the distinct phenotypes of different cancers . since the ability of nkx3 . 1 to function as a tumor suppressor gene has not been previously evaluated , we assessed its effects on growth and tumorigenicity of prostate carcinoma cell lines . to misexpress nkx3 . 1 , we employed retroviral gene transfer using a derivative of plzrs 24 that contains ires - gfp sequences , and enriched for gfp - expressing cells by flow cytometry . following cell sorting , greater than 95 % of the cells expressed gfp as well as high levels of nkx3 . 1 protein ( fig1 a and data not shown ). we compared the activity of nkx3 . 1 to that of a mutated derivative , nkx3 . 1 ( l - s ), containing a substitution of a conserved residue in the homeodomain . the resulting mutant protein is stable and localizes to the nucleus ( as does wild - type nkx3 . 1 ), but is inactive in dna - binding and transcription assays ( p . sciavolino and c . a .- s ., unpublished observations ). we examined the consequences of nkx3 . 1 misexpression using human ( pc3 ) and rodent ( at6 ) prostate carcinoma cell lines that do not express endogenous nkx3 . 1 ( fig1 a ) 25 , 26 . these results showed that misexpression of nkx3 . 1 , but not nkx3 . 1 1 ( l - s ), resulted in a 73 % reduction in cellular proliferation in at6 cells and a 59 % reduction in pc3 cells ( fig1 b ). we also found that misexpression of nkx3 . 1 resulted in 58 % reduction in anchorage - independent growth of at6 cells ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) ( fig1 c , d ). moreover , nkx3 . 1 - expressing at6 and pc3 cells displayed decreased tumor growth in nude mice of 47 % or 59 %, respectively ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ) ( fig1 e ). similar results were obtained in all assays using a human nkx3 . 1 retrovirus , as well as stable tetracycline - inducible cell lines expressing mouse or human nkx3 . 1 ( data not shown ). these tumor suppressor activities of nkx3 . 1 in cell culture and nude mice are consistent with the observation that nkx3 . 1 mutant mice display increased proliferation of prostatic epithelium 9 . despite these activities of nkx3 . 1 and its localization to 8p21 , previous studies have failed to detect mutational inactivation of the coding sequence in human prostate carcinoma 7 ; we have confirmed these findings by direct sequence analysis of genomic dna from prostate tumors ( data not shown ). therefore , we have investigated nkx3 . 1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry , which has revealed a significant reduction in its expression in pin as well as cancer ( fig2 ; table 1 ). in normal prostate epithelium and benign prostatic hyperplasia ( bph ), nkx3 . 1 immunostaining was robust in the nuclei of luminal epithelial cells , but was absent in the underlying basal epithelium or adjacent stroma ( fig2 a - c ). in contrast , nkx3 . 1 expression was significantly reduced ( 56 %; n = 15 / 27 ) or lost ( 26 %; n = 7 / 27 ) in a majority of prostate cancers ( fig2 d - i ; table 1 ); a similar conclusion was obtained by gelmann and colleagues using tissue microarrays 27 . notably , nkx3 . 1 protein expression was also reduced ( 58 %; n = 14 / 24 ) or lost ( 17 %; n = 4 / 24 ) in pin ( fig2 d , h ; table 1 ). interestingly , the level of nkx3 . 1 expression in pin generally paralleled that in adjacent regions of carcinoma ( e . g . fig2 d , h ), consistent with the presumed precursor relationship of pin to carcinoma ( reviewed in 1 , 2 ). the observed loss of nkx3 . 1 protein expression at early stages of prostate carcinogenesis is consistent with a functional role for nkx3 . 1 inactivation during prostate cancer initiation . one intriguing finding that we frequently observed in cancer and pin , but never in benign tissues , was a shift in sub - cellular localization of nkx3 . 1 protein from nuclear to cytoplasmic ( 66 %; n = 18 / 27 ) ( e . g ., fig2 g , i ). since nkx3 . 1 is a putative transcription factor that is presumed to function in the nucleus 8 , these data suggest that nkx3 . 1 inactivation may sometimes occur through aberrant sub - cellular localization . loss of function of nkx3 . 1 in mutant mice models prostate cancer initiation previously , we showed that homozygous and heterozygous nkx3 . 1 mutants develop prostatic epithelial hyperplasia and dysplasia prior to one year of age 9 . we have now found that nkx3 . 1 mutant mice are highly prone to develop pin ( fig3 ; table 2 ), supporting a functional role for nkx3 . 1 in prostate cancer initiation . in particular , in nkx3 . 1 mutants approaching 2 years of age , a majority of homozygotes ( 61 %; n = 22 / 36 ) and an intermediate number of heterozygotes ( 23 %; n = 7 / 30 ) develop histological features that define human pin , including cribriform or papillary architecture , atypical nuclei , and enlarged nucleoli ( fig3 a - h ). these pin regions in nkx3 . 1 prostates display additional histopathological alterations that characterize human pin and cancer ( fig3 i - l ), including loss of the basal layer of the epithelium as well as increased epithelial - stroma ratio , which likely reflect a decreased dependence of the secretory epithelium on the supporting basal cells and stroma . in particular , in wild - type mice , the basal epithelium forms a discontinuous layer underlying the secretory luminal cells , while in nkx3 . 1 mutants the basal layer is lost within the regions of pin ( fig3 i , j ). in addition , the stromal layer , comprised mainly of smooth muscle , is significantly reduced in size in nkx3 . 1 mutants relative to wild - type , indicative of an increased epithelial - stromal ratio ( fig3 k , l ). in contrast , nkx3 . 1 mutant mice display no increase in neuroendocrine cells , as assessed by staining with anti - chromogranin a antisera ( data not shown ); such neuroendocrine cells represent a small sub - population of epithelial cells that are often amplified in advanced prostate carcinoma , but rarely in pin . thus , nkx3 . 1 mutant mice model key histopathological features of early stages of human prostate carcinogenesis . although pten heterozygous mice also develop prostatic epithelial hyperplasia and dysplasia 18 - 20 , we have observed several striking differences between the histological phenotypes of pten and nkx3 . 1 mutant prostates ( fig4 ). overall , the histology of the pten +/− prostates was relatively normal , but displayed limited focal regions of dysplastic epithelium ( fig4 c , d ). in contrast , the histology of the nkx3 . 1 mutants displayed more broadly hyperplastic and dysplastic epithelium ( fig4 e , f , i , j ). moreover , while the nkx3 . 1 phenotype is more prominent in the anterior prostatic lobe 9 , the pten phenotype is similar in the anterior and dorsolateral lobes ( data not shown ). to examine whether nkx3 . 1 collaborates with pten in prostate carcinogenesis , we intercrossed compound heterozygotes ( nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− ) to produce cohort groups comprised of all six viable genotypes . since pten heterozygotes generally succumb to lymphomas and other tumors by one year of age 18 - 20 , we analyzed nkx 3 . 1 ; pten cohort groups from 5 to 8 months of age . these results show a striking cooperativity between nkx3 . 1 and pten that leads to formation of lesions that resemble prostatic ductal carcinoma in situ in nkx 3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− and nkx3 . 1 =/− ; pten +/− mice ( fig4 ; table 3 ). in particular , nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− and nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/− compound mutant mice developed large focal lesions comprised of poorly differentiated cells with prominent and multiple nucleoli , increased nuclear : cytoplasmic ratio , and frequent mitotic figs . ( fig4 g , h , k , l ). these lesions usually filled the affected prostatic ducts , often appearing to spread within the ductal network , and were highly vascularized ( fig5 i , j ). based on their undifferentiated cytology , microvascularization , and high proliferative index , we define these lesions as prostatic ductal carcinoma in situ . notably , these lesions were larger and more prevalent in the nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/− mice as compared with the nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− mice at 6 months of age ( table 3 ). similar , but significantly smaller , lesions were only occasionally seen in aged - matched pten +/− mice ( table 3 ), although they became more common in pten +/− mice at one year of age ( data not shown ). strikingly , these carcinoma in situ lesions are readily discernible as light - dense regions within the intact prostatic ducts , which are normally transparent ( fig5 a - d ). their histopathological features include a marked elevation and altered subcellular distribution of wide spectrum cytokeratins ( fig5 e , f ), and an absence of basal epithelium ( fig5 g , h ). in addition , the lesions display a high proliferative index , as indicated by the prevalence of mitotic figures and the abundance of ki67 - labeled nuclei ( 15 %) ( fig4 l , 5 k , l , p ). interestingly , outside the lesions , the nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants do not display an increased proliferative index relative to nkx3 . 1 single mutants , suggesting that pten heterozygosity does not significantly affect cellular proliferation of the prostatic epithelium . notably , immunohistochemical analysis revealed a loss of nkx3 . 1 protein expression within the carcinoma in situ lesions of nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− compound heterozygotes , contrasting with its robust nuclear staining in the adjacent , unaffected regions ( fig5 m - p ). moreover , although similar lesions are infrequent in the pten +/− single mutant mice , they also displayed loss of nkx3 . 1 protein expression ( fig5 n ). we asked whether the loss of nkx3 . 1 protein expression was a consequence of the loss of the nkx3 . 1 wild - type allele ( loss of heterozygosity , loh ), using genomic dna recovered by laser - capture microdissection of nkx3 . 1 - immunostained sections ( fig6 a ). in all cases analyzed ( n = 20 non - nkx3 . 1 expressing regions and 8 flanking nkx3 . 1 - expressing controls ), the wild - type nkx3 . 1 allele was retained despite the absence of nkx3 . 1 protein expression . in contrast , pten sustained allelic loss ( loh ) in 9 out of 10 carcinoma in situ lesions ( fig6 b ). these findings in nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− mice are strikingly reminiscent of the loss of nkx3 . 1 protein expression in human prostate tumors that occurs without mutation of the corresponding gene , suggesting that inactivation of nkx3 . 1 by loss of protein expression represents a common mechanism in mouse and human prostate carcinogenesis . finally , we examined the biochemical mechanism for the observed cooperativity between nkx3 . 1 and pten by investigating whether these genes affect a common signaling pathway . since pten functions as a negative regulator of pip - 3 synthesis , and thereby of activation of the akt kinase ( 15 - 17 and reviewed in 12 ), we examined the status of akt activation in nkx3 . 1 and pten single mutants and nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutant prostates using an antibody that detects the activated ( phosphorylated ) kinase ( fig6 c - h ). consistent with loss of pten activity , we observed that akt was highly activated in the ductal carcinoma in situ lesions . notably , however , we also observed akt activation in nkx3 . 1 mutant prostates , suggesting that loss of nkx3 . 1 independently affects akt signaling . in particular , we observed that phospho - akt staining was undetectable in unaffected regions of prostatic epithelium in the pten +/− single mutants as well as the nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants ( fig6 c , d and data not shown ). in contrast , we found that phospho - akt staining was highly elevated in carcinoma in situ lesions occurring in these mice , where it was primarily localized to the cell membrane ( fig6 d ). notably , we also observed akt activation in nkx3 . 1 single mutant prostates ( n = 8 ) ( fig6 e - h ). in some cases , activated akt was localized to the membrane , similar to that observed in the ductal carcinoma in situ lesions of nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants ( fig6 e ). more commonly , however , we observed nuclear localization of activated akt in isolated small groups of prostatic epithelial cells , which were generally correlated with the presence of pin lesions and found near ductal tips ( fig6 f - h ). the nuclear localization of activated akt in nkx3 . 1 1 mutants is noteworthy since this kinase is believed to function in the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm , and has been implicated in phosphorylating nuclear targets 28 - 30 . no positive staining was observed in wild - type control prostates , or in other epithelial tissues from nkx3 . 1 mutants such as bladder and intestine , where nkx3 . 1 is not expressed ( fig6 c and data not shown ). these findings suggest that the observed cooperativity of nkx3 . 1 and pten in prostate carcinogenesis is due to their ability to affect akt activation by independent pathways ( fig6 i ), and underscore a novel role for nkx3 . 1 in regulation of akt signaling . until recently , the validity of the mouse as a model for human prostate cancer has been questionable , due to the anatomical and histological differences between mouse and human prostate and the absence of spontaneous prostate cancer in the mouse ( reviewed in 1 ). here , we have developed mutant mouse models that accurately recapitulate early stages of human prostate carcinogenesis and provide novel mechanistic insights into these processes . these analyses represent a significant step toward utilizing mouse models to assemble a molecular pathway for human prostate cancer progression . these findings establish a role for loss of nkx3 . 1 function in prostate cancer initiation in the mouse and provide strong support for a corresponding role in human cancer . indeed , these functional analyses implicate nkx3 . 1 as an excellent candidate for the tumor suppressor activity at the 8p21 locus , and are consistent with allelotyping studies of 8p that have defined a minimal gene deletion interval of 500 kb containing the nkx3 . 1 locus ( m . emmert - buck , personal communication ). however , nkx3 . 1 does not represent a classical tumor suppressor gene , since it does not undergo mutational inactivation either in human prostate cancer or in mouse models . instead , nkx3 . 1 inactivation in both humans and mice involves loss of protein expression . although the mechanism of protein loss is presently unknown , it is likely to involve post - transcriptional regulation , since the unusually long nkx3 . 1 3 ′ utr contains putative translational control elements that are conserved between mouse and human 8 . inactivation of tumor suppressor function through loss of protein expression has also been described for the cyclin - dependent kinase inhibitor p27 and for the catalytic subunit of pi ( 3 ) kg in epithelial carcinomas 31 , 32 . thus , these findings further expand the mechanisms of tumor suppressor gene inactivation from a classical “ two - hit ” model to include additional scenarios for functional inactivation . in contrast to the prostate - specificity of nkx3 . 1 , pten is a broad - spectrum and “ classic ” tumor suppressor gene whose loss has been implicated in many cancers , including glioblastoma as well as endometrial and breast carcinoma 12 . despite their differences , nkx3 . 1 and pten collaborate in prostate carcinogenesis in mutant mice , and the mechanism for their synergy is likely to involve independent modes of activating akt ( fig6 i ), which in turn is a key regulator of cellular proliferation and survival . while the mechanism by which loss of nkx3 . 1 results in akt activation is presently unknown , it is likely to be indirect , since akt is not uniformly activated in the prostatic epithelium of nkx3 . 1 mutants . nonetheless , the convergence of the nkx3 . 1 and pten mutant phenotypes on akt activation in the prostate also implies that de - regulation of akt activity is a critical event in prostate cancer initiation . thus , we have shown that collaboration between a tissue - specific modulator of prostatic epithelial differentiation and a broad - spectrum tumor suppressor gene can result in cancer progression . we propose that such interactions contribute to the distinguishing features of prostate carcinoma relative to other cancers , and that similar interactions may explain the tissue - specific phenotypes of cancers . the present invention is further illustrated by the following examples which are not intended to limit the effective scope of the claims . all parts and percentages in the examples and throughout the specification and claims are by weight of the final composition unless otherwise specified . to generate mammalian retroviruses , sequences corresponding to the coding region of mouse or human nkx3 . 1 6 , 8 or mouse nkx3 . 1 ( l - s ) were subcloned into plzrsd - ires - gfp , a derivative of lzrspbmn - z 24 in which the lacz gene was replaced with an ires - gfp cassette . the mutant nkx3 . 1 ( l - s ) gene contains a substitution of leucine 140 to serine ( homeodomain position 16 ), which was introduced by pcr mutagenesis . replication - defective mammalian retroviruses were made in phoenix amphitropic retroviral packaging cells ( atcc ). target cells were seeded at a density of 1 × 10 4 / cm 2 for pc3 cells and 5 × 10 3 / cm 2 for at6 ( at6 . 3 ) cells , and infected with viral supernatants ( containing 8 μg / ml polybrene ) on three consecutive days . expression of nkx3 . 1 or nkx3 . 1 ( l - s ) was verified by western blot analysis directly following flow cytometry , and also at the termination of each assay . for proliferation assays , pc3 cells were seeded in triplicate at a density of 5 × 10 4 cells / 6 well dish in media containing 0 . 5 % fbs , and at6 cells were seeded at 1 × 10 4 cells / 6 well dish in media containing 0 . 25 % fbs ; media was replenished every second day . cell number was determined by optical density following staining with napthol blue black ( sigma ). anchorage - independent growth was monitored by seeding at6 cells in triplicate at a density of 1 , 000 cells / 6 well dish in media containing 0 . 35 % agarose layered over 0 . 5 % agar ; cells were grown for 14 days . tumor growth in nude mice ( taconic ) was monitored by subcutaneous injection of at6 cells ( 1 × 10 4 ) or pc3 cells ( 1 × 10 6 in 50 % matrigel ). tumor size was monitored for four weeks ( at6 ) or six weeks ( pc3 ) by measuring with calipers in two dimensions , following by determination of tumors weights at necropsy . expression of nkx3 . 1 in the tumors was verified by immunohistochemistry . statistical analyses were performed using a two - sample t test for independent samples with unequal variances ( satterthwaite &# 39 ; s method ). the nkx3 . 1 and pten mutant mice have been described 9 , 19 . analyses were performed on a hybrid 129 / svimj and c57b1 / 6j strain background using virgin male mice from postnatal day 0 through 24 months of age . for histological analyses , dissected tissues were fixed in omnifix 2000 ( aaron medical industries , st . petersburg , fla . ), and processed for hematoxylin - and - eosin staining . the primary histological analysis was performed on a non - blinded basis ( by r . d . c . ); one of us ( m . m . s .) independently reviewed the histological data on a blinded basis , reaching similar conclusions . the human prostate tumor specimens ( generously supplied by dr . regina gandour - edwards ) were paraffin embedded prostate tissues retrieved from the surgical pathology files at the university of california davis medical center . the histological diagnosis and gleason grade were independently verified by one of us ( r . d . c .) and dr . gandour - edwards . immunohistochemical analysis was performed on cryosections ( for akt and phospho - akt antibodies ) or formalin - fixed tissues following antigen retrieval ( for all other antibodies ). antibodies were as follows : monoclonal antibody against smooth muscle actin ( sigma ); monoclonal antibody against cytokeratin 14 ( biogenex ); monoclonal antibody against cd105 , endoglin ( dako ); polyclonal antisera against poly - cytokeratins , for wide spectrum screeining ( dako ); polyclonal antisera against ki67 antigen ( novocastra laboratories ); polyclonal antisera against akt and phospho - akt ( ser 473 ) ( cell signaling technology ). anti - nkx3 . 1 antisera were generated using full - length mouse or human nkx3 . 1 proteins purified from e . coli lysates as hexa - histidine fusion proteins . the data shown in fig2 were performed using anti - nkx3 . 1 polyclonal antisera ; similar results were obtained with an anti - nkx3 . 1 monoclonal antibody ( data not shown ). immunodetection was performed using vector m . o . m . immunodetection kit for monoclonal antibodies or vector elite abc kit rabbit igg for polyclonal antisera with vector novared substrate kit ( vector laboratories ). ki67 - labelled nuclei were quantitated by counting approximately 20 , 000 hematoxylin - stained nuclei from high - power microscopic fields . laser - capture microdissection was performed on immunostained sections using a pixcell apparatus ( arcturus eng . inc ). dna was extracted from pooled samples ( 1000 laser pulses ) at 37 ° c . in 50 mm tris - hcl ( ph 8 . 5 ), 0 . 5 % tween - 20 , 1 mm edta ( ph 8 . 0 ), and 0 . 5 mg / mil proteinase k . dna was analyzed by pcr amplification followed by southern blot analyses . primer sequences were as follows : for the nkx3 . 1 wild type allele , 5 ′- gccacagtggctgatgtcaaggagtcgg ( primer a ) and and 5 ′- gccaacctgcctcaatcactaagg . for the nkx3 . 1 targeted allele , primer a and 5 ′- ttccacatacacttcattctcagt . for the pten wild type allele ( exon 5 ), 5 ′- aaaagtcagtcttttccatagttga ( primer b ) and 5 ′- aatataacagttctcaaagcatca . for the pten targeted allele , primer b and 5 ′- tagcgccaagtgcccagcggggc . in another embodiment the present invention is directed to a nkx3 . 1 promoter . promoters are dna sequences found upstream of a gene that promote transcription of a gene to produce mrna and may be the attachment site for rna polymerase . a nkx3 . 1 promoter will direct expression specifically in the prostate . in particular , these findings have shown that nkx3 . 1 is expressed early during prostate development and into adulthood . a prostate - specific promoter will be of commercial use in potential gene therapy and for other strategies to direct therapeutics to the prostate . [ 0052 ] table 2 summary of prostatic epithelial defects in the anterior prostate of nkx3 . 1 mutant mice a genotype total # normal hyperplasia pin +/+ 1 - 6 month n = 11 11 0 0 6 - 12 month n = 6 4 1 1 12 - 24 month n = 11 9 2 0 n = 28 24 3 1 +/− 1 - 6 month n = 12 9 3 0 6 - 12 month n = 7 2 2 3 12 - 24 month n = 11 3 4 4 n = 30 14 9 7 −/− 1 - 6 months n = 13 2 5 6 6 - 12 month n = 8 3 1 5 12 - 24 month n = 15 0 5 11 n = 36 5 11 22 [ 0053 ] table 3 summary of the prostatic epithelial defects in the anterior prostate of nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutant mice at 5 - 8 months of age carcinoma genotype total # normal hyperplasia pin in situ nkx3 . 1 +/+ ; pten +/+ n = 6 5 1 0 0 nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/+ n = 11 6 4 1 0 nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/+ n = 10 2 4 4 0 nkx3 . 1 +/+ ; pten +/− n = 10 3 2 5 2 nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− n = 13 2 3 8 8 nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/− n = 11 0 2 9 11 [ 0055 ] fig1 : tumor suppressor activities of nkx3 . 1 . ( a ) western blot analysis showing expression of nkx3 . 1 or nkx3 . 1 ( l - s ) proteins ( arrow ) following retroviral gene transfer of pc3 and at6 cells . ( b ) cellular proliferation assays performed with at6 or pc3 cells infected with a control retrovirus ( vector ) or retroviruses expressing nkx3 . 1 or nkx3 . 1 ( l - s ). assays were performed in triplicate ; error bars represent one standard deviation . ( c , d ) anchorage - independent growth assays performed following retroviral infection of at6 cells . representative soft agar plates are shown in ( c ) and quantitation of assays performed in triplicate are shown in ( d ); error bars represent one standard deviation . ( e ) tumor growth in nude mice following injection of retrovirally - infected at6 or pc3 cells . in the box plot , the horizontal line within the box represents the median tumor weight , the box represents one standard deviation , the vertical lines show two standard deviations , and the circles are the outliers . [ 0056 ] fig2 : loss of nkx3 . 1 protein expression in human prostate cancer . immunohistochemical analysis of nkx3 . 1 protein expression in formalin - fixed prostatectomy specimens . ( a - c ) examples of nkx3 . 1 immunostaining of normal prostate epithelium ( a , b ) and bph ( c ). note absence of staining in the basal cells ( arrows ) and adjacent stroma . inset high power view of nuclear staining of secretory epithelial cells ( arrow ). ( d - i ) examples of nkx3 . 1 immunostaining of pin and carcinoma . ( d ) low power view showing staining in pin and graded reduction of staining in the adjacent , poorly differentiated cancer . ( e , f ) low and high power views showing low level staining in well - differentiated cancer . note the distinct levels of staining in the same and adjacent ducts ( arrows ). inset absence of nuclear staining in cancer cells ( arrow ). ( g ) high power view showing low level staining in a heterogeneous region of moderate and poorly differentiated cancer . note the diffuse cytoplasmic staining in the cancer duct ( top arrow ), contrasting with the nuclear staining of the adjacent relatively normal ducts ( bottom arrow ). ( h ) reduced staining in pin and adjacent well - differentiated cancer , with higher staining intensity in pin relative to the adjacent carcinoma . ( i ) predominantly cytoplasmic staining of nkx3 . 1 in poorly differentiated cancer ( arrows ). inset high power view of cytoplasmic staining . abbreviations : npe , normal prostate epithelium ; bph , benign prostatic hyperplasia ; cap , prostate cancer ; pin , prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia . scale bars represent 100 microns . [ 0057 ] fig3 : nkx3 . 1 mutant mice model prostate cancer initiation . ( a - h ) hematoxylin - eosin staining of paraffin sections of anterior prostate in wild - type ( nkx3 . 1 +/+ ) and homozygous ( nkx3 . 1 −/− ) mice at 19 months of age . ( a - d ) low and high power views of nkx3 . 1 +/+ prostate showing well - differentiated columnar epithelial cells arranged in papillary tufts ( arrows in a ); basal cells are evident ( arrows in c , d ) and luminal spaces are filled with secretions ( lightly staining eosinophilic material ). ( e - h ) multi - layered hyperplastic and severely dysplastic epithelium of nkx3 . 1 −/− prostate ( arrows ), with little luminal space or secretory material . insets show nuclear atypia with prominent and multiple nucleoli . ( i - l ) immunohistochemical analysis of formalin - fixed sections of nkx3 . 1 +/+ and nkx3 . 1 −/− anterior prostates at 12 months of age . ( i , j ) immunodetection of basal epithelium with anti - cytokeratin 14 antibody ( ck14 ) shows intact basal layer in the nkx3 . 1 +/+ prostate ( i , arrows and inset ). in contrast , there are disorganized basal cells at the margins of the pin regions of the nkx3 . 1 −/− prostate ( j , arrows and inset ) while the interior lacks basal cells . ( k , l ) immunodetection of smooth muscle stroma with an anti - actin antisera shows reduction of the fibromuscular sheath , and thus an increased epithelial : stromal ratio , in the nkx3 . 1 −/− prostate relative to the nkx3 . 1 +/+ prostate . scale bars represent 100 microns . [ 0058 ] fig4 : loss of nkx3 . 1 and pten cooperate in prostate carcinogenesis . hematoxylin - eosin staining of paraffin sections of anterior prostates of nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutant mice at 6 months of age . ( a , b ) well - differentiated columnar epithelium of the nkx3 . 1 +/+ ; pten +/+ prostate . inset high power view of columnar epithelial and basal cells . ( c , d ) focal regions of dysplastic cells ( arrows ) surrounded by well - differentiated epithelium of the nkx3 . 1 +/+ ; pten +/− prostate . inset example of nuclear atypia . ( e , f ) foci of moderately hyperplastic epithelium of the nkx3 . 1 +/− : pten +/+ prostate . ( g , h ) a focal lesion of ductal carcinoma in situ ( arrow ) surrounded by well - differentiated epithelium of the nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− prostate . ( i , j ) extensively hyperplastic and dysplastic epithelium of the nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/+ prostate . inset high power view shows example of nuclear atypia . ( k , l ) large focal lesion of ductal carcinoma in situ surrounded by well - differentiated epithelium of the nkx3 . 1 1 −/− ; pten +/− prostate . inset high power view shows atypical nuclei with a mitotic figure scale bars represent 100 microns . [ 0059 ] fig5 : immunohistochemical analysis of prostatic lesions of nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants . ( a - d ) whole mounts of anterior prostates from nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants at 6 months showing light - dense masses corresponding to ductal carcinoma in situ lesions ( arrows ). bright field ( a , b ) and dark field ( c , d ) images are shown . scale bars represent 500 microns . ( e - p ) immunohistochemical analysis of formalin - fixed sections of the anterior prostate of nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants at 6 months of age . ( e , f ) immunodetection of wide spectrum cytokeratins ( polycytokeratin ; ck - p ), which stains the membrane of normal prostate epithelium ( arrow ). note the high level staining in the ductal carcinoma in situ lesions of the nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− prostate , indicating cytoskeletal reorganization . ( g , h ) immunodetection of basal cells with ck14 , which stains the periphery of the carcinoma in situ lesions of the nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/− prostate . ( i , j ) immunodetection of endothelial cells with cd105 ( endoglin ) showing increased microvascularization ( arrows ) of the carcinoma in situ lesions of the nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− prostate . ( k , l ) immunodetection with ki67 antibody shows increased proliferative index in the carcinoma in situ lesions ( arrows indicate positive cells ). ( m - p ) immunodetection with anti - mouse nkx3 . 1 antisera ( nkx3 . 1 ) shows absence of nkx3 . 1 staining in the carcinoma in situ lesions ( arrows ), contrasting with the robust nuclear staining of flanking , unaffected regions . arrow in ( p ) shows a mitotic figure in the lesion . scale bars represent 100 microns . [ 0060 ] fig6 : mechanism of nkx3 . 1 and pten cooperativity . ( a , b ) southern blot analysis of genomic dna recovered by laser capture microdissection of nkx3 . 1 immunostained sections of ductal carcinoma in situ lesions from nkx3 . 1 +/− ; pten +/− prostates . genomic dna from a total of 20 independent lesions that lacked nkx3 . 1 staining were analyzed ; representative data from 6 lesions ( 1 - 6 ) are shown . control dna ( labeled w / nkx3 . 1 ) were recovered from flanking regions that retained nkx3 . 1 staining . note that the nkx3 . 1 wild - type allele is retained in each case , whereas the pten wild - type allele is lost ( loh ) in all but one case (# 2 ). ( c - h ) immunohistochemical analysis of phospho - akt staining of the anterior prostates from nkx3 . 1 ; pten compound mutants at 6 months of age ( c , d ) or nkx3 . 1 −/− single mutants at 13 months ( e ), 8 months ( f ) or 26 months of age ( g , h ). ( c ) low power view shows absence of staining in the wild - type prostate . ( d ) robust staining in the ductal carcinoma in situ lesions of the nkx3 . 1 −/− ; pten +/− prostate . inset high power view showing membrane staining . ( e ) example of membrane staining for phospho - akt in an nkx3 . 1 −/− prostate . ( f - h ) examples of nkx3 . 1 −/− prostates with clusters of cells showing nuclear phospho - akt staining . inset high power view of cell clusters with nuclear staining . 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hemmings , b . a . mitogenic activation , phosphorylation , and nuclear translocation of protein kinase bbeta . j biol chem 272 , 30491 - 30497 ( 1997 ). 29 . andjelkovic , m . et al . role of translocation in the activation and function of protein kinase b . j biol chem 272 , 31515 - 31524 ( 1997 ). 30 . brunet , a . et al . akt promotes cell survival by phosphorylating and inhibiting a forkhead transcription factor . cell 96 , 857 - 868 ( 1999 ). 31 . tsihlias , j ., kapusta , l . & amp ; slingerland , j . the prognostic significance of altered cyclin - dependent kinase inhibitors in human cancer . annu rev med 50 , 401 - 423 ( 1999 ). 32 . sasaki , t . et al . colorectal carcinomas in mice lacking the catalytic subunit of pi ( 3 ) kgamma . nature 406 , 897 - 902 ( 2000 ). throughout this disclosure , applicant will suggest various theories or mechanisms . while applicant may offer various mechanisms to explain the present invention , applicant does not wish to be bound by theory . these theories are suggested to better understand the present invention but are not intended to limit the effective scope of the claims . while the invention has been particularly described in terms of specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will understand in view of the present disclosure that numerous variations and modifications upon the invention are now enabled , which variations and modifications are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the invention is to be broadly construed and limited only by the scope and spirit of the following claims .