Orientador: Paulo Mazzafera / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T20:50:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Schimpl_FlaviaCamila_M.pdf: 3074978 bytes, checksum: 589ce5b09a9c5f294c4bd4eaaff896b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Alguns grupos de plantas caracterizam-se por acumularem cafeína. Chá, café e guaraná, que acumulam cafeína, são algumas dessas plantas. As sementes de guaraná possuem o maior teor de cafeína já descrito em plantas, entre 2,5 e 6%. A popularização dos produtos a base de guaraná e a alta demanda por cafeína natural (obtida por descafeinação de plantas) destacam o interesse comercial pela espécie. A biossíntese de cafeína em plantas foi extensivamente estudada em café e chá e ambas espécies têm as mesmas vias chave da biossíntese da cafeína. O terceiro passo da via ocorre na presença de teobromina sintase (TS), enzima com atividade específica na conversão de 7-metilxantina em teobromina, e/ou dependendo da espécie, na presença de cafeína sintase (CS), uma enzima bifuncional que atua nos dois últimos passo da síntese de cafeína, na conversão da 7-metilxantina para teobromina e posteriormente desta para cafeína. O objetivo desta tese foi caracterizar os níveis de metilxantinas, atividade e expressão de CS em frutos de guaraná, sendo que para isto foram realizadas análises bioquímicas e moleculares nos tecidos de cinco cultivares (BRS-Amazonas, BRS-CG372, BRS-CG611, BRS-Maués, BRS-Luzéia). Teobromina acumulou preferencialmente em folhas (estádios jovem, intermediária e madura), caule (porção apical e basal), inflorescência, pericarpo de frutos nos estádio verde, intermediário e maduro. Nas sementes, a cafeína foi o alcaloide que acumulou em maior quantidade e atingiu níveis entre 3,3 e 5,8%. Nos tecidos analisados, seja teobromina ou cafeína, a maior concentração do alcaloide foi em tecidos novos, reduzindo com o desenvolvimento. Enquanto que teofilina foi encontrada em quantidades baixas em todos os materiais. A maior concentração de cafeína em frutos imaturos foi confirmada pela maior atividade de CS e maior expressão de PcCS. A busca do gene da CS de guaraná no banco de sequências EST Realgene gerou uma sequencia de nucleotídeos (PcCS) com 1080 pb, que apresenta semelhança filogenética com proteínas de CS de cacau (BCS1) e chá (TCS1 e TCS2). A produção da proteína recombinante permitiu a caracterização funcional de PcCS como uma CS bifuncional, capaz de catalisar os dois últimos passos de metilação da biossíntese de cafeína. PcCS mostrou afinidade para 7-metilxantina e teobromina (maior afinidade), diferindo das CS descritas para outras espécies acumuladoras de cafeína, que possuem maior afinidade por paraxantina. Provavelmente isto se deve aos resíduos de aminoácidos presentes no sítio ativo da proteína predita, quando comparada com a de café / Abstract: Some plants are characterized by presenting high contents of caffeine. Tea, coffee and guarana, which accumulate the alkaloid caffeine, are some of these plants. Guarana seeds have the highest caffeine content (2.5 and 6%) among plants accumulating methylxanthine alkaloids. The increase in popularity of products made from guarana and the high demand for natural caffeine (obtained by decaffeination plant) justify the commercial interest for this species. The biosynthesis of caffeine in plants has been extensively studied in coffee and tea and both species present high similarity regarding the caffeine biosynthesis pathway. The third step of the pathway occurs in the presence of the enzyme theobromine synthase (TS), which converts 7-methylxanthine to theobromine but depending on the species, this step is also mediated by caffeine synthase (CS), an bifunctional enzyme that in addition to convert 7-methylxanthine to theobromine, also convert the later to caffeine. The aim of this study was to characterize the levels of methylxanthine alkaloids, activity and expression of caffeine synthase in the guarana fruit, and for this biochemical and molecular analyses were carried out in tissues of five cultivars of guarana (BRS-Amazonas, BRS-CG372, CG611-BRS, Maués-BRS, BRS-Luzéia). Theobromine was preferentially accumulated in the leaves (young, intermediate and mature stages), stems (apical and basal sections), inflorescence, and pericarp of fruits (green, intermediate and mature stages). However caffeine accumulated in the seeds as the main alkaloid and reached levels between 3.3 and 5.8%. In all tissues analyzed, whether theobromine or caffeine, the alkaloid concentration was higher in new tissues, reducing with the development/maturation. While theophylline was found in low amounts in all materials. The highest concentration of caffeine in immature fruits was confirmed by the highest activity of CS and highest expression of PcCS. The search for the CS gene of guarana in the EST guarana database Realgene generated a sequence of nucleotides (PcCS) with 1080 bp, which presented phylogenetic similarity with proteins of caffeine synthase from cocoa (BCS1) and tea (TCS1 and TCS2). The production of the PcCS recombinant protein allowed the functional characterization of the enzyme as a bifunctional CS, able to catalyze the two last methylation steps in the biosynthesis of caffeine. PcCS showed affinity for 7-methylxanthine and theobromine (highest), differing from the CS described for other species accumulating caffeine, which have highest affinity paraxanthine. This is probably due to the amino acid residues present in the active site of the predicted protein when compared to coffee / Mestrado / Biologia Vegetal / Mestra em Biologia Vegetal

Les cyanobactéries sont des procaryotes photosynthétiques ubiquitaires qui produisent un grand nombre de métabolites secondaires, dont des toxines. Parmi ces cyanotoxines, l'anatoxine-a est une neurotoxine puissante qui provoque une mort rapide après ingestion. La mort est causée par asphyxie car ces alcaloïdes sont de puissants agonistes du récepteur nicotinique de l'acétylcholine.L'équipe, au sein de laquelle j'ai effectué ma thèse, étudie la biosynthèse de l'anatoxine-a et de ses dérivés, chez les cyanobactéries. Des travaux précédents de l'équipe ont permis d'identifier le cluster de gènes responsable de la biosynthèse de l'anatoxine-a et de l'homoanatoxine-a, dans le génome de la cyanobactérie Oscillatoria sp. PCC 6506, une souche productrice d'homoanatoxine-a. Une voie de biosynthèse, à partir de la proline a été proposée par l'équipe.J'ai travaillé sur l'étude des dernières étapes de cette voie de biosynthèse, qui met probablement en jeu une polyketide synthase (PKS) AnaG et une thioestérase AnaA. Lors de ces étapes le précurseur de l'homoanatoxine-a est condensé à une unité acétate, puis subirait une méthylation, une hydrolyse et une décarboxylation, pour donner l'homoanatoxine-a. Néanmoins, la PKS AnaG ne possède ni domaine thioestérase ni domaine décarboxylase, et les dernières étapes de la biosynthèse sont donc mal définies. Nous avons décidé d'exprimer différents domaines d'AnaG chez Escherichia coli pour obtenir plus d'informations sur ces étapes. Nous avons également tenté de préparer un analogue du substrat putatif d'AnaG par synthèse chimique.Par ailleurs, nous avons étudié la biosynthèse de la dihydroanatoxine-a chez Cylindrospermum stagnale PCC 7417. / Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic ubiquiterious prokaryotes which produce a high range of secondary metabolites including toxins. Among these cyanotoxins anatoxin-a is a potent neurotoxin which causes the rapid death on ingestion. The death is caused by respiratory failure because these alkaloid are potent agonists of the nicotinic alcetylcholine receptor. The team in which I did my PhD thesis studies the biosynthesis of anatoxin-a and of its derivatives in cyanobacteria. Preceding works by our team have permitted the identification of the cluster of genes that is responsible for the biosynthesis of anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a in the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria sp. PCC 6506. A biosynthetic pathway from proline was also proposed by the team. I have worked on the final stages of this biosynthesis pathway which probably involves a polyketide synthase (PKS), AnaG, and a thioesterase, AnaA. During these stages, the homoanatoxin-a precursor is likely condensed to one acetate unit, and then it is subjected to a methylation, a hydrolysis and a decarboxylation , to yield homoanatoxin-a. The PKS AnaG possesses neither a thioesterase domain nor a decarboxylase domain, and the last steps of the biosynthesis are therefore not well defined. We have chosen to express different domains of AnaG in Escherichia coli to obtain more information on these steps. We have also attempted by chemical synthesis to prepare an analog of the substrate of AnaG. With these tools in hand and with the use of mass spectrometry we hope to be able to confirm the biosynthetic pathway we have put forth. We have also studied the biosynthesis of dihydroanatoxin-a in Cylindrospermum stagnale PCC 7417.

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate pulmonary endogenous and inhaled nitric oxide (NO) in neonates with severe respiratory failure. Infant autopsy documents were reviewed for fulminant early-onset bacterial pneumonia. 12 infants with the onset at < 72 h of age and three control groups were identified. Immunohistochemistry revealed that 11 of the infants with early-onset pneumonia (92%) had no or faint inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) staining in their alveolar macrophages (AM). All control infants, regardless of their postnatal age, had NOS2-positive AM. The marker of NO-toxicity, nitrotyrosine, was low in all specimens. To confirm this finding, airway specimens of 21 newborns requiring mechanical ventilation were examined. Seven of them had fulminant early-onset pneumonia with maternal ascending intra-uterine infection (IUI). The controls had no infection at birth despite IUI or neither infection nor IUI. In early-onset pneumonia, NOS2 and nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity were low at birth and increased during the recovery phase (p < 0.05). Analyses of interleukin-1 and surfactant protein A showed the same pattern of age-dependent change. Of the autopsied infants, 12 had received inhaled NO (iNO) before death. Each case was paired with a matched control. Additional five infants without respiratory failure prior to death were also studied. The iNO-treated ones tended to have more intensive NOS2 staining in the bronchiolar epithelium and adjacent tissue than the controls. No differences in other NOS isoforms or nitrotyrosine were detected. A novel method for exhaled NO measurements of intubated infants was developed. Six preterm and six term newborns were prospectively recruited for expired and nasal NO measurements. During the first week of life, the preterm infants showed a different pattern of exhaled NO excretion compared to the term infants. For the pilot intervention study on very early iNO, the eligible patients had a birth weight < 1500 g and progressive, therapy-resistant respiratory failure before five hours of age. Five infants received iNO, showed immediately improved oxygenation and survived without deleterious side effects. Deficient production of NO in small premature infants is associated with severe infection and respiratory failure. Very early iNO therapy may be exceptionally effective in a select group of infants, and did not appear to cause oxidation lung injury.

Cellulose is one of the most abundant biopolymers on earth and is an important commodity for industries such as the pulp and paper industry. Cellulose is deposited into the plant cell walls by a complex of membrane bound enzymes known as cellulose synthases. A number of cellulose synthase (CesA) genes, which encode for different cellulose synthase proteins, have been identified from plant species such as Eucalyptus, Populus and Arabidopsis. Mutant and expression profile analysis of the CesA genes indicated that a set of three CesA genes are associated with secondary cell wall formation, while a different set of CesA genes are associated with primary cell wall formation. The aim of this study was to investigate the transcriptional regulation of the different members of the CesA gene family in Eucalyptus. The promoter regions were comparatively analysed with the orthologous regions in Arabidopsis and Populus using bioinformatics tools to identify putative regulatory motifs that playa role in CesA genes regulation. Six Eucalyptus CesA gene promoters were isolated using genome walking. The Eucalyptus promoter regions and the orthologous promoter regions from Populus and Arabidopsis were analysed using TSSP (Transcriptional start site plant promoter prediction) and NNPP (Neural network promoter prediction) software packages. The software packages predicted the transcriptional start sites of the genes and the core regulatory elements such as the TATA-box and initiator elements. The in silico results were compared among species and it was found that the predicted transcriptional start sites and the core elements of the CesA gene promoters showed substantial structural conservation. The promoter regions were used in a comparative in silico analysis with the orthologous promoter regions from Arabidopsis and Populus to identify putative regulatory motifs. This is the first study in which the promoters of the CesA gene family are characterized in Arabidopsis, Populus and Eucalyptus. Three software packages (Weeder, POCO and MotifSampler) were used to analyse the promoter regions and identify over-represented motif sequences. A number of key stem-specific and xylem-specific motifs such as the AC-motif and G-box motif were identified as well as a number of novel motifs. Although all of the predicted motifs identified here will have to be functionally tested, the results of this study provide a good map for directed deletion studies and functional testing of the CesA promoters. / Dissertation (MSc (Genetics))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Genetics / unrestricted

Pinus patula is the single most important commercial plantation forest tree species in South Africa. It accounts for 52% approximately (700,000 ha) of total commercial plantation area in the country and is utilised for saw logs and pulp and paper production. P. patula is a tropical pine species indigenous to Mexico. Excellent ex situ conservation and range-wide provenance trials have been established for P. patula in South Africa and South America. These highly organised trials provide the opportunity to perform association genetic studies with the long term aim to identify trait linked markers for future molecular improvement of P. patula. In this study, the first gene-based assessment of allelic diversity in P. patula was performed. This pilot study focused on two cellulose biosynthetic genes as representatives of wood formation genes and assayed molecular evolution parameters such as nucleotide diversity, allelic diversity and linkage disequilibrium (LD) in a species-wide reference population of P. patula. Two novel cellulose synthase (CesA) genes were isolated and characterised in P. patula. One of these genes, PpCesA1, is putatively involved in the biosynthesis of secondary cell walls of tissues such as xylem (wood), while the other, PpCesA2 is proposed to be associated with primary cell wall formation in rapidly growing tissue types. The genomic DNA copies of PpCesA1 and PpCesA2 were 6025 bp and 6365 bp in length, respectively. The corresponding cDNA sequences encoded 1083 and 1058 amino acids, respectively, and differed considerably from each other (73% amino acid identity). Both amino acid sequences contained the key domains and motifs characteristic of functional CESA proteins isolated in other higher plants. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that PpCesA1 was most similar (99%) to its putative ortholog in Pinus taeda, PtCesA3, and PpCesA2 was highly similar to a putative ortholog in Pinus radiata, PrCesA2 (99% identity). This phylogenetic analysis supported previous findings that the divergence between the primary and secondary cell wall associated CESA proteins occurred before the divergence of angiosperms and gymnosperms approximately 300 million years ago. A fragment of a putative paralogous gene copy of PpCesA1, named PpCesA1-B was also isolated. The PpCesA1-B gene fragment was found to differ from PpCesA1 by 22 nucleotide polymorphisms and its non-allelic (paralogous) status was confirmed by segregation analysis in P. patula. In order to gain an understanding of molecular genetic variation that might affect wood formation in P. patula, we sequenced multiple allelic variants of PpCesA1, PpCesA1-B and PpCesA2, which we sampled from a species-wide reference population of P. patula. The average levels of nucleotide diversity were found to be low for all three genes (π ≈ 0.0015), which may be a property of functional members of the CesA gene family. As a result of the low nucleotide diversity, only small numbers of pair-wise informative sites were available for LD analysis and the decay in LD could only be studied in PpCesA2 where it was found to decay very rapidly (within 200 bp). Tests of neutrality suggested that the exon sequences of PpCesA1 and PpCesA2 were under significant positive (adaptive) selection. Comparison of levels of nucleotide diversity and selection in different parts of the two genes indicated that the highest levels of adaptive selection occurred in areas where amino acid substitutions could alter protein structure or function. This study provides valuable insights for designing future allele discovery efforts in P. patula with the ultimate goal of developing gene-based markers for the molecular improvement of wood formation in this tree species. / Dissertation (MSc (Genetics))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Genetics / unrestricted

Plants employ diverse defense mechanisms to combat attack by harmful organisms. For instance, plants produce constitutive physical barriers or use chemical compounds such as specialized secondary metabolites to resist herbivore or pathogen invasion. Considering the cost-efficiency and energy balance between defense, growth and reproduction, defense reactions in plants have to be regulated temporally and spatially. As more cost-efficient strategies, plants may induce their defense response only in the presence of the attacker or restrict constitutive defenses to specific tissues or cells. In this study, we investigated aspects of the spatial regulation and induced changes of primary and secondary metabolism in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana. Roots represent important organs for anchoring plants in the soil and taking up water and nutrients. Hence, it is assumed that roots are as well protected as aerial tissues by different defense mechanisms. The first part of this work is focused on the cell-type-specific biosynthesis of volatile terpenes in Arabidopsis roots. Terpenes are the most abundant specialized metabolites in plants and play an important role in plant defense against pathogens or herbivores. Terpene biosynthetic enzyme activities are often coordinated in specific tissues and cellular compartments. Fine-scale transcriptome maps of Arabidopsis roots have shown that terpene biosynthesis is restricted to particular cell types. However, the reasons and significance of this cell-type specificity are not well understood. We hypothesized that the formation of terpene metabolites is not restricted to specific cells but can be supported by different cell types. We, therefore, probed the plasticity of the cell-specific formation of terpenes by swapping the expression of the terpene synthase (TPS) genes, TPS08, TPS13 and TPS25, between different root cell types in the respective mutant background. To investigate the ectopic expression of TPSs at different levels, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), confocal microscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were performed. We found that terpene synthase TPS08, which produces the diterpene rhizathalene and is normally expressed in the root vascular tissue, is functionally active when expressed in the epidermis or cortex, although at substantially lower levels compared to the wild type. We did not find an obvious correlation between the volatile emission level and gene transcript level of TPS08, which may be attributed to a reduced activity of the expressed TPS08-yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusion protein. When expression of TPS13 (producing the sesquiterpene (Z)-"-bisabolene) was directed from the cortex to the epidermis or stele, TPS13 gene expression and (Z)-"-bisabolene formation was supported by these cell types although to varying levels in comparison to wild type. TPS13-YFP fluorescent signal driven by the epidermal WER and GL3 promoters was primarily detected at the root tip. Terpene production was also observed for the (E)-"-farnesene sesquiterpene synthase TPS25 when its expression was switched from the endodermis and non-hair producing epidermal cells to hair producing epidermal cells although only a weak fluorescent signal was detected from the expressed TPS25-mGFP protein. Together, the results provide preliminary evidence for a relaxed cell specificity of terpene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis roots and suggest that tissue-specific terpene metabolite patterns could change depending on different selective pressures in rhizosphere. In the second part of this study, we performed global gene transcript profiling and primary metabolite analysis of Arabidopsis roots upon feeding by the generalist root herbivore, Bradysia (fungus gnat). In a microarray analysis, we identified 451 of 22,810 genes that were up-regulated more than 2-fold. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that 26% of those genes with predicted or known functions play a role in primary or secondary metabolism, while 24% are involved in cell signaling or in responses to stimulating factors, such as jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene, wounding, and oxidative stress. At the metabolite level, we observed only marginal changes of amino acid, sugar and carboxylic acid relative levels over a time course of 4 days of Bradysia feeding. There was a trend for increased levels of amino acids and the relative levels of sucrose were increased significantly ("=0.05) at the fourth day of feeding. In conclusion, the study provided evidence for the induction of genes related to primary and secondary metabolism and stress responses in Arabidopsis roots, but showed only marginal changes at the primary metabolite level. In addition, the work indicated that the formation of terpene-specialized metabolites in Arabidopsis roots is not restricted to specific cells, but can be supported by different cell types. / Master of Science

Cellulose is the most important component of paper and pulp products and increased cellulose biosynthesis in commercially important trees like Eucalyptus spp. could greatly benefit paper and pulp industries. Cellulose in plants occurs mostly in the secondary cell walls together with lignin and hemicellulose. It is biosynthesised by membrane-bound rosette-shaped protein complexes. The rosette complexes are believed to be comprised of six sub-units each containing six cellulose synthase (CESA) proteins. The CESA proteins utilise UDP-glucose to polymerize growing glucan chains that coalesce to form cellulose microfibrils. Three distinct CESA proteins form the rosette complexes during primary cell wall formation and three different CESA proteins form complexes during secondary cell wall deposition. The exact means by which the CESA proteins interact within a rosette complex remains unknown. Elucidating rosette protein complex assembly and better characterization of CESA protein activity is required in order to increase cellulose biosynthesis in commercially important trees. Because of the difficulties to characterise genes and proteins in tree species, Arabidopsis thaliana has been used to study xylogenesis. Although it is a herbaceous weed, Arabidopsis has been shown to undergo secondary growth under certain conditions. A literature study of cellulose biosynthesis in plants has highlighted several scientific questions: Will over-expression of a heterologous secondary cell wall CESA protein in Arabidopsis lead to increased cellulose biosynthesis? What effect will the over-expression of a heterologous protein have on the growth and development of Arabidopsis? Will it have an effect on cell wall chemistry in stem tissues? What effect will expression of the transgene have on endogenous Arabidopsis gene expression? The aim of this M.Sc study was to functionally characterise the Eucalyptus secondary cell wall associated cellulose synthase gene, EgCesA1, in Arabidopsis. The EgCesA1 coding sequence was constitutively expressed in wild-type Arabidopsis plants. Three transgenic lines expressing EgCesA1 was generated. Hypocotyl and inflorescence vascular cell wall phenotypes were compared between transgenic and wild-type plants. Chemical analysis of inflorescence tissues were performed to detect changes in monosaccharide and lignin content of transgenic plants compared to wild-type plants. Transcript levels of EgCesA1 and endogenous Arabidopsis genes involved in cell wall biogenesis were quantified and compared between wild-type and transgenic lines. No significant changes in cell wall morphology could be detected, despite small alterations in inflorescence cell wall chemical composition in transgenic plants. Expression of EgCesA1 did not appear to have a statistically significant effect on endogenous gene transcript levels. It was concluded that constitutive expression of a single transgenic CesA gene is insufficient to increase cellulose biosynthesis. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Genetics / unrestricted

No description available.

The non-ribosomal peptide synthase (NRPS) blue pigment synthase (BpsA) has been shown in several heterologous hosts to mediate the production of the blue pigment indigoidine from two molecules of L-glutamine. Activation of BpsA is mediated by transfer of a coenzyme A (CoA) by a 4′-phosphopantetheinyl transferase (4′-PPTase). In this thesis, I explored heterologous co-expression of BpsA and the Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4′-PPTase (PaPcpS) and their co- localization to either cytoplasm or chloroplast stroma of the green model microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The alga represents a potentially sustainable production host for indigoidine, as it is able to grow using CO2 as a sole carbon source and (sun)light for its energy. Both heterologous proteins (BpsA and PaPcpS) could be expressed as full-length fusion proteins with either the mVenus yellow fluorescent reporter or spectinomycin resistance (aadA) selection marker in both subcellular localisations. Dual transformants were identified and subjected to multiple growth conditions to determine whether indigoidine was produced. Under no condition tested was indigoidine detected, indicating that either activation of BpsA or the catalysis of L-glutamine to indigoidine was not occurring in alga. Future work will be required to determine whether it is possible to activate the BpsA in C. reinhardtii. However, this represents the first documented example of expression of a heterologous NRPS in a eukaryotic alga and may serve as foundational work for other target NRPS expression projects.

Prostate cancer is the most common newly diagnosed non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. It is a unique neoplasm because of the large discrepancy between its clinical incidence and the much higher incidence of latent cancer. Predicting the prognosis of prostate cancer, especially the cancers detected incidentally or by screening, remains a clinically important problem. Immunoreactivity for Onco-antigen 519 (OA- 519), a recently described fatty acid synthase (FAS), has been associated with poor prognosis in breast cancers. The authors have previously shown that its detection in prostate cancer correlated with high-grade, large volume, and advanced stage tumors. This study examines the association between OA- 519 immunoreactivity in primary prostate cancer and disease progression. The authors used immunohistochemistry with an affinity-purified anti-OA-519 antibody and examined primary prostate cancers (stages A1 to D1) from 99 men with a mean follow-up of 4 years (range= 2 to 9.3). Survival analysis was used to evaluate differences in progression-free survival. OA-519 immunoreactivity was seen in 56 (57%) of the 99 primary prostate cancers examined. OA-519-positive cancers were more likely to progress than the OA- 519-negative cancers (P < .04). Univariate survival analysis showed that OA- 519 (FAS), histological grade (Gleason score), and clinical stage were significant predictors of disease progression. Multivariate analyses of all cases showed that only histological grade was significant. However, multivariate analysis of the 85 cancers with Gleason scores 2-7 (ie, low to intermediate grade) showed OA-519 (FAS) immunoreactivity to be the only statistically significant predictor of cancer progression (P<.02). Expression of the fatty acid synthase OA-519 by prostate cancers is potentially a clinically useful predictor of disease progression. It appears to be independent of histological grade (Gleason score), at least in cancers with low to intermediate grades. Further studies are needed to evaluate the role of fatty acid synthase in malignancy and the potential therapeutic implications of enzyme blockers.