Human prostatic acid phosphatase and prostate specific antigen: protein structure, gene organization, and expression in neoplastic and benign tissues.

Human prostatic acid phosphatase (ACPP) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) have been used as diagnostic and prognostic markers of prostate cancer. The structure of ACPP and PSA genes and their encoded proteins are described. The expression of both genes was shown to be elevated significantly in neoplastic tissue when compared to benign prostatic hyperplasia. The prospect of developing new molecular DNA/RNA markers to diagnose prostate cancer is discussed.