ORIGINAL ARTICLE Expression of Two Testis-specific Genes, SPATA19 and LEMD1, in Prostate Cancer Soudeh Ghafouri-Fard, a Zahra Ousati Ashtiani, a Bareto Sabah Golian, b Seyyed-Mohammad Hasheminasab, a and Mohammad Hossein Modarressi a,c a Medical Genetics Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran b Sabah Golian Ultrasound Clinic, Tehran, Iran c Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Received for publication January 2, 2010; accepted March 30, 2010 (ARCMED-D-10-00004). Background and Aims. Screening methods for early detection of prostate cancer have some limitations regarding specificity and sensitivity, so there is a continuing search to find new cancer biomarkers. Cancer-testis genes are a group of genes with expression almost limited to testis and different kinds of tumors. Since testis is an immune privileged site, if these genes are expressed in tumors, they can be immunogenic. We undertook this study to find new members of the cancer-testis gene family appropriate for cancer immunotherapy Methods. We analyzed the expression of six testis-specific genes called ODF1, ODF2, ODF3, ODF4, LEMD1and SPATA19 in 30 prostate cancer and 25 benign prostate hyper- plasia (BPH) samples by RT-PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Results. Of the prostate cancer samples, 10, 10, 23 and 40% showed ODF1, ODF2, LEMD1 and SPATA19 specific bands, respectively, but none of the BPH samples expressed any of these genes. The difference between prostate cancer and BPH groups for LEMD1 and SPATA19 expression was significant. Mean serum PSA level was significantly higher in patients expressing ODF2 than in the other patients. Conclusions. ODF1, ODF2, SPATA19 and LEMD1 are members of cancer-testis gene family. In addition, LEMD1 and SPATA19 are putative cancer biomarkers and promising targets for active immunotherapy. Ó 2010 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. Key Words: Cancer testis antigen, Immunotherapy, Prostate cancer, SPATA19, LEMD1, ODF. Introduction Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease ranging from asymptomatic to an extremely aggressive systemic malig- nancy. It is so prevalent among men that it can be considered as a normal age-related phenomenon. Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in Western countries (1). Existing screening methods for prostate cancer detection such as serum PSA analysis have some limitations and finding specific cancer markers for early detection of prostate cancer is a real necessity. There are a number of putative biomarkers for prostate cancer, but the clinical correlation of these markers is not completely understood. Some of these biomarkers are caveolin-1, p-Akt, p27, the met oncogene, Ki67 (MIB-1), 8q24 overexpression, polycomb protein EZH2, plasma TGF-B1 and IL-6 and prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) (2). It was recently shown that TGIFLX/Y, members of the homeobox superfamily, are expressed in prostate cancer but not in BPH. Their pattern of expression is related with Gleason score (3). Many different factors are responsible for progression of the latent form of clinical cancer. Identification of high-risk subjects and finding molecular targets for prevention of this disease need analysis of the function of these factors. There has been a continuing search for tumor antigens, which can stimulate cytolytic response of immune system against cancer (4,5). Characteristics of ideal cancer antigens Address reprint requests to: Mohammad-Hossein Modarressi, Medical Genetics Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Enghelab Street, Tehran, Iran 1417613151; Phone and Fax: 00982188953005; E-mail: modaresi@tums.ac.ir 0188-4409/$esee front matter. Copyright Ó 2010 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2010.04.003 Archives of Medical Research 41 (2010) 195e200