TRAMP- A Transgenic Mouse Model for Prostate Cancer

Baylor College of Medicine
posted on 01/31/2008

Prostate cancer is the cause of death in approximately 35,000 American men each year. In addition, 165,000 new cases of prostate cancer are discovered annually. Based on these figures, a tremendous market opportunity exists for new pharmaceutical treatments as well as gene therapy applications. Unfortunately, rapid progress in prostate cancer research has been slowed, in part, by the lack of an adequate animal model to mimic the progression of human prostate cancer.

Suggested Uses

The TRAMP mouse model will be an essential research tool for academic and commercial companies by enabling the rapid screening of novel compounds and testing of new gene-based therapies for treatment of prostate cancer.

Advantages

The TRAMP mice have several distinct advantages over existing models:

• the transgene is specific for the epithelial cells of the prostate

• the tumor tissue histologically and biochemically resembles the human disease (with PIN and cribriform structures appearing as early as 10 weeks)

• the tumors arise with a short latency period and with 100% frequency

• the mice exhibit progressive stages of prostate cancer ranging from PIN, cribriform structures, and focal adenocarcinoma to extracapular extension (ECE), seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) with metastasis to lymph nodes, adrenal glands, lung and bone

• the mouse model can be used to follow the progression/multi-stage development of disease all within a 10 – 20 week time period

• the mouse models exhibit less morbidity and mortality due to complications with other organs as seen in other models

Innovation Details

Detailed Description

Drs. Norm Greenberg, Jeff Rosen and Robert Matusik have established a transgenic mouse model for prostate cancer using the probasin transgene targeting system. This system consists of 426 basepairs of the rat probasin gene promoter and 28 basepairs of 5’-untranslated region plus a specific oncogene in order to induce oncogenesis in the mouse prostate. The resulting strains of mice exhibit consistent prostate-specific patterns of expression and progressively develop prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), focal adenocarcinoma and finally, metastatic spread to the lymph nodes, adrenal glands, lung and bone.

File Number: BLG 94-45

Web site: http://www.bcm.edu/blg/showned.cfm?94-45

Other Information:

Transgenic mice that express a particular oncogene and subsequently develop local and metastatic forms of prostate cancer are available via Jackson Labs. Currently, one established line is available in either an inbred C57Bl/6 genetic background or as C57/FVB hybrids. Papers that describe the mouse model have been published in: Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 92: 3439-3443; Cancer Res. 56: 4096-4102; Tox. Path. 24(4): 502-504; J. Urol. 160(4): 1500-1505; and Cancer Res. 59: 2203-2209.

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