Cooperativity of TMPRSS2-ERG with PI3-kinase pathway activation in prostate oncogenesis

Charles Sawyers and colleagues report that mice expressing a TMPRSS2-ERG fusion develop prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, but only in the context of PI3-kinase pathway activation mediated by either Pten loss or Akt activation. They also find that human TMPRSS2-ERG–positive tumors are enriched for PTEN loss, suggesting that these two events cooperate in human prostate tumorigenesis.