In vitro models for tumor protein d52 function in cancer cells

Excerpt

Tumor protein D52 (TPD52), a tumor-associated antigen, is overexpressed in the majority of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers, where it is also amplified in a proportion of cases. Comparing TPD52 (or D52) protein expression with clinical parameters indicates that increased D52 expression is an early event in the development of prostate cancer and possibly other cancers. The D52 protein is a member of a family that includes the related proteins D53 and D54. Studies to date indicate that while D52-like proteins share common molecular functions as putative adaptor proteins, D52-like genes are not equally overexpressed or targeted by gene amplification in cancer. As a first step in allowing the specific targeting of D52 overexpression in cancer, it is therefore imperative to determine the effects of increasing or reducing the expression of D52 and related proteins in mammalian cells. …