Lack of Selenoproteins Linked to Prostate Cancer

Researchers working with a transgenic mouse model have reported that an insufficiency of selenium-containing proteins (selenoproteins) was directly related to the development of prostate cancer.

Investigators at the University of Illinois (Chicago, USA) created their model by breeding two transgenic animals: mice with reduced selenoprotein levels because of the expression of an altered selenocysteine-tRNA, and mice that developed prostate cancer because of the targeted expression of the SV40 large T and small t oncogenes in the prostate gland.

The resulting bigenic animals and control mice were assessed for the presence, degree, and progression of pre-cancerous lesions and prostate tumors. Results published in the May 23, 2006, issue of the Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences revealed that the selenoprotein-deficient mice exhibited accelerated development of lesions associated with prostate cancer progression.
"It is a hardcore link in an animal model system of selenium-containing proteins to prostate cancer and, by extrapolation, the mechanism by which selenium prevents cancer,” said senior author Dr. Alan Diamond, professor of human nutrition at the University of Illinois.



Related Links:
University of Illinois, Chicago