Study of two putative prostate cancer tumor markers

The following thesis is based on my study of two candidate prostate cancer tumor markers, namely telomerase and CD9. Accordingly, the thesis will be divided in two main chapters describing the results obtained for each protein. Although these proteins are de-regulated in prostate cancer cells, little is known about their regulation and function in prostate cells. For example, telomerase is generally inactive in normal cells and reactivated in cancer cells and CD9 is a transmembrane protein that is lost as prostate cancer progresses. In chapter 2, I will show that introduction of normal human chromosomes into mouse melanoma cells can shut down its telomerase activity by inhibiting hTERT transcription and that the gene encoding this regulator is likely located on human chromosome 17p11.1. Additionally, following further characterization of CD9 partners in chapter 3, we will learn more about the likely mechanism by which CD9 induces mitotic catastrophe when over-expressed in prostate cancer cells