RNAscope™ in situ hybridization (ISH) offers a reliable and robust method for the detection and validation of prostate cancer (PCa)-related biomarkers within the tissue environment. 

How RNAscope™ ISH has been applied to examine PCa-related markers:

• Reactivation of WNT by SOX9 drives PCa:
  SOX9 has been implicated in PCa but the SOX9-dependent genes and pathways involved are not well known. Ma et al. used SOX9 ChIP-Seq and transcriptome profiling to identify the spectrum of SOX9-related genes and pathways in PCa. A microarray gene set enrichment was performed on the prostate cancer cell line VCaP after knockdown of SOX9 and showed that SOX9 positively regulated WNT pathway genes such as AXIN2, FZD5, and FZD7. RNAscope™ ISH validated the microarray results in human PCa samples and showed that SOX9 levels correlated with WNT pathway components.

  SOX9 drives WNT pathway activation in prostate cancer

• Correlation of the lncRNA SChLAP1 with PCa disease progression:
  Mehra et al. used RNAscope™ ISH to demonstrate that PCa patients with high expression of the lncRNA SChLAP1 had a significantly higher chance of developing lethal disease, suggesting SChLAP1 could be a tissue-based prostate cancer biomarker for identifying PCa patients at higher risk of lethal progression. The RNAscope™ assay is a unique method in patient-derived FFPE samples to study the expression of lncRNAs, for which antibody detection is just not possible.

  Overexpression of the long non-coding RNA SChLAP1 independently predicts lethal prostate cancer.

• Identification of the cellular localization of the secreted factor IL6 in PCa:
  IL6 is known to contribute to the development and/or progression of PCa, however the source of IL6 production has not been determined. Yu et al. used RNAscope™ ISH to reveal that IL6 expression was nearly exclusively restricted to the prostate stromal compartment and no IL6 was detected in primary and metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma cells. These findings suggest that paracrine IL6 and not autocrine IL6 is associated with PCa disease progression.

  A paracrine role for IL6 in prostate cancer: Lack of production by primary or metastatic tumor cell

Recorded Webinar

Watch the recorded webinar "Elucidating tumor heterogeneity in prostate cancer by combined IHC & novel RNA ISH"  presented by Nallasivam Palanisamy, PhD, Associate Scientist Department of Urology Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI.

Watch Webinar