A region on chromosome 1, 1q24-q31, is believed to harbor a prostate cancer susceptibility gene, known as HPC1. Our group originally identified this locus through genetic linkage analysis using a large set of high risk prostate cancer families. As of last year, this group had completed the construction of a high resolution physical map that was used for genetic marker and candidate gene mapping. This physical map, consisting primarily of bacterial artificial chromosomes, has served as the template for sequencing of the 1q25 region for the human genome project. Over the past year, we have mapped a total of 75 potential candidate genes in the HPC1 region. A number of these genes, which were originally partial transcripts have been extended into full length transcripts and have been characterized for patterns of tissue expression by Northern analysis. We have also used computational biology to identify novel predicted genes from draft human genome sequence. We have screened approximately 60 of these candidate genes for germline mutations in prostate cancer patient DNA samples. We have identified several interesting DNA variants that are currently under detailed investigation. To date, three manuscripts have been drafted from this work, with one published and two in review.
