BABOON AS A MODEL FOR PROSTATE SERUM ANTIGEN BIOLOGY STUDIES

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目及 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 中心，但不一定是研究者所在的机构。 前列腺癌是一个主要的公共卫生问题，在美国每年有超过230，000例病例和超过30，000例死亡。 早期检测前列腺癌的最佳工具，因此在疾病显著进展之前开始治疗，是常见的前列腺特异性抗原或PSA测试。 该测试使用简单的血液样本来测量PSA循环量。 高水平的PSA表明可能的癌症。 全球每年进行超过4500万次PSA检测，因为这是一种有效的诊断和筛查工具，挽救了许多生命。 然而，PSA测试仍然存在问题。 最重要的是，大约25%的PSA水平升高的男性没有癌症，大约四分之一的前列腺癌男性没有高PSA水平，因此无法通过目前的PSA检测。 临床医生不得不得出结论，虽然血液PSA检测是一种有价值的重要工具，但我们仍然需要更多地了解PSA水平个体差异的原因。 数据显示，癌症是PSA水平高的原因之一，但肯定还有其他原因。 此外，一定有一些原因，为什么一些癌症患者没有表现出高水平。 解释PSA水平变化的最佳假设不是由于癌症：A）男性之间的遗传差异影响他们的PSA水平，与癌症分开，和B）肥胖和与肥胖相关的生理变化也影响PSA水平。 这项初步研究的目的是调查狒狒作为一种新的动物模型，研究PSA水平的个体差异的原因。 狒狒是一个很好的选择，因为它们不会得前列腺癌。 因此，我们可以研究PSA水平的差异，而不必担心某些动物可能由于早期未诊断的前列腺癌而导致PSA水平高于平均水平。 我们将对250只雄性狒狒的PSA水平进行一系列分析。 这些分析将告诉我们：a）狒狒之间的遗传差异是否会影响PSA水平，B）年龄是否会像影响人类PSA一样影响狒狒PSA，以及c）狒狒之间体脂和肥胖的差异是否也会影响PSA水平。 这项试点研究的结果将是重要的，在开发更大的研究应用到美国国立卫生研究院研究这个重要的临床问题，影响成千上万的人在美国每年。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Prostate cancer is a major public health problem, accounting for more than 230,000 cases and more than 30,000 deaths per year in the US. The best tool for detecting prostate cancer early, and therefore beginning treatment before the disease progresses significantly, is the common prostate specific antigen or PSA test. This test uses a simple blood sample to measure the amount of PSA circulating. High levels of PSA indicate possible cancer. More than 45 million PSA tests are done worldwide each year because this is an effective diagnostic and screening tool that has saved many lives. However, there are still problems with the PSA test. Most importantly, about 25% of men with elevated PSA levels do not have cancer, and about one quarter of men with prostate cancer do not have high PSA levels, and are therefore not detected by the current PSA test. Clinicians have been forced to conclude that although blood PSA testing is a valuable and important tool, we still need to learn more about the causes of individual variation in PSA levels. The data show that cancer is one reason for high PSA levels, but there must be other reasons as well. In addition, there must be some reason why some men with cancer do not show high levels. The best hypotheses to explain the variation in PSA levels that is not due to cancer are: A) genetic differences among men influence their PSA levels, separate from cancer, and B) obesity and physiological changes related to obesity also affect PSA levels. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate baboons as a new animal model to study the causes of individual variation in PSA levels. Baboons are an excellent choice for this because they do not get prostate cancer. As a result, we can study differences in PSA levels without worrying that some animals may have higher than average PSA levels due to early undiagnosed prostate cancer. We will conduct a series of analyses of PSA levels among 250 male baboons. These analyses will tell us whether: a) genetic differences among baboons influence PSA levels, b) age influences baboon PSA as it does human PSA, and c) differences in body fat and obesity among the baboons also influence PSA levels. The results of this pilot study will be important in developing larger research applications to the National Institutes of Health to study this important clinical problem that affects thousands of men in the US each year.