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Updated: Sep 8, 2025
Murine Prostate Micro-dissection and Surgical Castration
Published on: May 11, 2016
The genes controlling normal function of citrate and spermine secretion are lost in aggressive prostate cancer and
Morten Beck Rye1,2,3,4, Sebastian Krossa5, Martina Hall6,7
1Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 8905, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Abstract:
High secretion of the metabolites citrate and spermine is a unique hallmark for normal prostate epithelial cells, and is reduced in aggressive prostate cancer. However, the identity of the genes controlling this biological process is mostly unknown. In this study, we have created a gene signature of 150 genes connected to citrate and spermine secretion in the prostate. We have computationally integrated metabolic measurements with multiple transcriptomics datasets from the public domain, including 3826 tissue samples from prostate and prostate cancer. The accuracy of the signature is validated by its unique enrichment in prostate samples and prostate epithelial tissue compartments. The signature highlights genes AZGP1, ANPEP and metallothioneins with zinc-binding properties not previously studied in the prostate, and the expression of these genes are reduced in more aggressive cancer lesions. However, the absence of signature enrichment in common prostate model systems can make it challenging to study these genes mechanistically.
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