We have identified a novel gene, six transmembrane protein of prostate 1 (STAMP1), which is largely specific to prostate for expression and is predicted to code for a 490-amino acid six transmembrane protein. Using a form of STAMP1 labeled with green fluorescent protein in quantitative time-lapse and immunofluorescence confocal microscopy, we show that STAMP1 is localized to the Golgi complex, predominantly to the trans-Golgi network, and to the plasma membrane. STAMP1 also localizes to vesicular tubular structures in the cytosol and colocalizes with the early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1), suggesting that it may be involved in the secretory/endocytic pathways. STAMP1 is highly expressed in the androgen-sensitive, androgen receptor-positive prostate cancer cell line LNCaP, but not in androgen receptor-negative prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 and DU145. Furthermore, STAMP1 expression is significantly lower in the androgen-dependent human prostate xenograft CWR22 compared with the relapsed derivative CWR22R, suggesting that its expression may be deregulated during prostate cancer progression. Consistent with this notion, in situ analysis of human prostate cancer specimens indicated that STAMP1 is expressed exclusively in the epithelial cells of the prostate and its expression is significantly increased in prostate tumors compared with normal glands. Taken together, these data suggest that STAMP1 may have an important role in the normal prostate cell as well as in prostate cancer progression.The prostate gland is a major secretory organ whose precise function is still not known (1). Through secretions into the male ejaculate, it is thought that the prostate protects the lower urinary tract from infection and increases fertility. Despite the unknown specific function, the prostate is the most common site of neoplastic transformation in men. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in men other than skin cancer (2). In the initial stages, prostate cancer is dependent on androgens for growth, which is the basis for androgen ablation therapy (3). However, in most cases, prostate cancer progresses to an androgen-independent phenotype for which there is no effective therapy available at present (for reviews, see Refs. 4 and 5).Currently, there is limited information regarding the molecular details of normal prostate function as well as prostate cancer initiation and progression. Several independent approaches resulted in the identification of a few highly prostateenriched genes that may have unique roles in these processes. The first such gene discovered was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 1 (for a review, see Ref. 6), which is currently used as a diagnostic tool and also as a marker for the progression of prostate cancer, albeit with significant limitations (7,8). More recently, several additional prostate-enriched genes were identified including prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) (9), prostate carcinoma tumor antigen 1 (PCTA-1) (10), NKX3.1 (11, 12), pros...