Progression of an androgen-dependent tumour to an androgen-independent state is characterized by the loss of apoptotic potential, a property of cells which have differentiated under the influence of androgens. In an attempt to relate progression to mechanisms of apoptotic failure, we compared the relative levels of expression of androgen receptor and TRPM-2 (clusterin) genes in androgen-dependent and -independent tumours derived from the Shionogi carcinoma. The amount of 10 kb androgen receptor mRNA in androgen-dependent and -independent cells was similar thus showing no relationship to progression. Owing to cross-hybridization of androgen receptor cDNA with non-receptor transcripts, two new androgen-repressed mRNAs (ADS31 and ADS39) were cloned. Each was found to have a 20/21 bp GC-rich region of sequence homology with the androgen receptor, implying selective conservation of a domain whose function is unknown. Sequencing results also revealed that ADS31 cDNA encodes a polypeptide identical to mouse YPT1, a ras-related GTP-binding protein. Expression of the ADS31/YPT1, ADS39 and TRPM-2 genes was sensitive to androgen withdrawal and replacement both in the parent androgen-dependent and the recurrent androgen-independent carcinomas. The uncoupling of TRPM-2 expression and apoptosis observed in androgen-independent tumour cells implies that the function of androgen receptor becomes more restricted with tumour progression. Furthermore, the fact that the expression of ADS31/YPT1 transcript becomes dominant in the advanced stages of androgen-independent growth, suggests that the mechanism of progression is subserved by duplication and possibly redundancy of alternative (signal transduction) pathways mediating tumour cell survival and growth.