Study appearing in JCI linked KLF6-SV1 overexpression to cancer spread in mouse models and human cell lines.
A specific form of the protein KLF6 (KLF6-SV1) is an indicator of poor survival in men with prostate cancer, according to researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
The team analyzed tumors from men with localized prostate cancer who had undergone a prostatectomy. They found that increased levels of an mRNA involved in the generation of KLF6-SV1 correlated with more rapid disease recurrence and decreased survival.
Additionally, human prostate cancer cells expressing increased levels of KLF6-SV1 metastasized more rapidly and more often than normal prostate cancer cells in two mouse models of metastatic prostate cancer. Conversely, decreasing KLF6-SV1 expression in prostate cancer cells decreased tumor growth in mice. Also, while KLF6-SV1 overexpression increased metastasis, it did not affect localized tumor growth.
The results of the research were published July 1 in the online version of Journal of Clinical Investigation.
