Increased expression of ARF GTPases in prostate cancer tissue

Purpose: ARFs are a family of Ras-related GTP binding proteins, ARF6, in particular, is implicated in cancer invasion and metastasis. However, the role of ARF proteins in prostate cancer have yet to be investigated. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for ARF6 was performed on a prostate cancer tissue microarray with patient matched normal specimens. Results: Antibody staining was significantly over-expressed in prostate cancer patient samples compared to normal patient tissue and a trend towards increased staining intensity in cancer samples with Gleason scores of 8 and above (metastatic disease). Conclusion: Due to high homology between members of the ARF family we could not determine if ARF 6 was the only ARF over-expressed in the prostate cancer samples. However, we are the first to show that ARF-GTPases are over expressed in prostate cancer which provides further insight into the molecular biology of prostate cancer.