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AssigneeThe Brd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Illinois
InventorJason M. Ridlon
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Provided herein is the first commensal microbial gene encoding an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of androstenedione to epitestosterone in the gut bacterium Clostridium scindens (desF). Also provided is an important and unrecognized capability for epitestosterone in androgen receptor-dependent prostate cancer cell proliferation and the potential clinical relevance of this bacterial enzymatic pathway (desF) in prostate cancer. Additionally, it was discovered that bacterial isolates from urine or prostatectomy tissue are capable of androgen production and that urinary tract bacteria can exhibit 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity The gene in urinary isolates encoding 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase that catalyzes the conversion of androstenedione to testosterone was identified and named desG.
An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising:
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An isolated polypeptide comprising a sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 and/or SEQ ID NO:4 and an indicator reagent, an amino acid spacer, an amino acid linker, a signal sequence, a stop transfer sequence, a transmembrane domain, a protein purification ligand, an affinity purification tag, a heterologous polypeptide, or a combination thereof.
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A method of identifying prostate cancer, resistant prostate cancer, or advancing prostate cancer in a patient comprising detecting a level of 17α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17α-HSDH), detecting a level of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSDH), or detecting both a level of 17α-HSDH and 17β-HSDH present in a prostatectomy sample, a urine sample, or a fecal sample of the patient, wherein an elevated level of 17α-HSDH as compared to a control sample or standard indicates prostate cancer, resistant prostate cancer, or advancing prostate cancer.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.