PTEN and prostate cancer: To functionally validate the role of LKB1 pathway in prostate cancer progression, we engineered a genetic model by interbreeding Lkb1flox/flox mice with those carrying Pb-Cre4 and floxed Pten alleles (Pb-Cre4; Ptenflox/flox, PP), which resulted in a prostate epithelium-specific deletion of both Lkb1 and Pten (Pb-Cre4; Ptenflox/flox; Lkb1flox/flox, PPL) (Fig. 3a).