Re: Aberrant ERG Expression Cooperates with Loss of PTEN to Promote Cancer Progression in the Prostate

摘要

The authors investigated the functional consequences of Ets-related gene (ERG) rearrangement and overexpression and its association with phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) loss in prostate cancer (PCa). PTEN was lost in 14 of 15 ERG-rearranged samples but was lost in only 13 of 25 nonrear-ranged samples, suggesting that PTEN loss and ERG genetic rearrangements are concomitant events in PCa. Mouse experiments showed that combined ERG overexpression and PTEN haploinsufficiency lead to accelerated development of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) and subsequent progression to multifocal, invasive PCa.