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Purpose: Development of prostate cancer prevention strategies is an important priority to overcome high incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Recently, we showed that Nexrutine, an herbal extract, inhibits prostate cancer cell proliferation through modulation of Akt and cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB)^mediated signaling pathways. However, it is unknown if Nexrutine can be developed as a dietary supplement for the prevention of prostate cancer. In this study, we used the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) model to examine the ability of Nexrutine to protectTRAMP mice from developing prostate cancer. Experimental Design: Eight-week-oldTRAMP mice were fed with pelleted diet containing 300 and 600 mg/kg Nexrutine for 20 weeks. Efficacy of Nexrutine was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging at 18 and 28 weeks of progression and histologic analysis of prostate tumor or tissue at the termination of the experiment. Tumor tissue was analyzed for modulation of various signaling molecules. Results: We show that Nexrutine significantly suppressed palpable tumors and progression of cancer in the TRAMP model. Expression of total and phosphorylated Akt, CREB, and cyclin D1 was significantly reduced in prostate tissue from Nexrutine intervention group compared with tumors from control animals. Nexrutine also inhibited cyclin D1 transcriptional activity in androgen-independent PC-3 cells. Overexpression of kinase dead Akt mutant or phosphorylationdefective CREB inhibited cyclin D1transcriptional activity. Conclusions: The current study shows that Nexrutine-mediated targeting of Akt/CREBî nduced activation of cyclin D1prevents the progression of prostate cancer. Expression of CREB and phosphorylated CREB increased in human prostate tumors compared with normal tissue, suggesting their potential use as prognostic markers.Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and expected to lead to f27,350 deaths in 2006 (1). African American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world, whereas Asian men native to their countries who consume a low-fat, high-fiber diet have the lowest risk (2). Epidemiologic studies suggest that a reduced risk of cancer is associated with the consumption of a phytochemical-rich diet that includes fruits and vegetables (3). Evidence suggests that prostate cancer progresses from normal epithelium to proliferative inflammatory atrophy, to low-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), and to high-grade PIN that eventually progresses to the more aggressive-metastatic and clinically evident prostate cancer (ref. 4 and references therein). Such preneoplastic lesions have been found in young men in their 20s and are common in men in their 50s (5). However, clinically detectable prostate cancer does not generally manifest itself until the 60s. In addition, the occurrence of precancerous lesions is more prevalent (about 1 in three men) than the incidence of carcinoma (about one in nine men; ref. 6). Therefore, the develop...

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Pituitary adenomas are classified into functioning and nonfunctioning (silent) tumors on the basis of hormone secretion. However, the mechanism of tumorigenesis and the cell of origin for pituitary adenoma subtypes remain to be elucidated. Employing a tamoxifen-inducible mouse model, we demonstrate that a novel postnatal Pax7+ progenitor cell population in the pituitary gland gives rise to silent corticotroph macro-adenomas when the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor is conditionally deleted. While Pax transcriptional factors are critical for embryonic patterning as well as postnatal stem cell renewal for many organs, we have discovered that Pax7 marks a restricted cell population in the postnatal pituitary intermediate lobe. This Pax7+ early progenitor cell population is overlapping but ontologically downstream of the Nestin+ pituitary stem cell population, yet upstream of another newly discovered Myf6+ late progenitor cell population. Interestingly, the Pax7+ progenitor cell population is evolutionarily conserved in primates and humans, and Pax7 expression is maintained not only in murine tumors but also in human functioning and silent corticotropinomas. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that human silent corticotroph adenomas may in fact arise from a Pax7 lineage of the intermediate lobe, a region of the human pituitary bearing closer scientific interest as a reservoir of pituitary progenitor cells.