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Basic Research

SOX2 expression in the developing, adult, as well as, diseased prostate

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases volume 17, pages 301–309 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

SOX2 is a member of SOX (SRY-related high mobility group box) family of transcription factors.

Methods:

In this study, we examined the expression of SOX2 in murine and human prostatic specimens by immunohistochemistry.

Results:

We found that SOX2 was expressed in murine prostates during budding morphogenesis and in neuroendocrine (NE) prostate cancer (PCa) murine models. Expression of SOX2 was also examined in human prostatic tissue. We found that SOX2 was expressed in 26 of the 30 BPH specimens. In these BPH samples, expression of SOX2 was limited to basal epithelial cells. In contrast, 24 of the 25 primary PCa specimens were negative for SOX2. The only positive primary PCa was the prostatic NE tumor, which also showed co-expression of synaptophysin. Additionally, the expression of SOX2 was detected in all prostatic NE tumor xenograft lines. Furthermore, we have examined the expression of SOX2 on a set of tissue microarrays consisting of metastatic PCa tissues. Expression of SOX2 was detected in at least one metastatic site in 15 of the 24 patients with metastatic castration-resistant PCa; and the expression of SOX2 was correlated with synaptophysin.

Conclusions:

SOX2 was expressed in developing prostates, basal cells of BPH, as well as prostatic NE tumors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the patients and their families who were willing to participate in the Prostate Cancer Donor Program and the physicians and the rapid autopsy team at the University of Washington. This research was supported by: NIH to RM (5R01 DK055748-14 and 4R01 CA076142-14); DOD to RM (PC074022); DOD to XY (PC111074); NIH to SWH (5R01 DK067049); Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPORE (P50CA97186); PO1 NIH grant (PO1CA085859); and Richard M. Lucas Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    X Yu, C You, M M Grabowska, J Zhang, D J DeGraff, D W Strand, O E Franco, O Lin-Tsai, S W Hayward & R J Matusik

  2. Department of Pathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    J M Cates

  3. Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    C Morrissey

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  1. X Yu
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Correspondence to X Yu or R J Matusik.

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Yu, X., Cates, J., Morrissey, C. et al. SOX2 expression in the developing, adult, as well as, diseased prostate. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 17, 301–309 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2014.29

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