Premium
Immunocytochemical demonstration of p21 ras in normal and transitional cell carcinoma urothelium
Author(s) -
Dunn Timothy L.,
Seymour Gregory J.,
Gardiner Robert A.,
Strutton Geoffery M.,
Lavin Martin F.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.1711560112
Subject(s) - urothelium , staining , transitional cell carcinoma , pathology , immunohistochemistry , urinary bladder , monoclonal antibody , carcinoma , biology , carcinoma in situ , cell , antibody , bladder cancer , urinary system , cancer , medicine , anatomy , immunology , genetics
Activation and/or overexpression of the protein product of the ras gene family (p21 ras ) has been implicated in the development of various cancers, including bladder carcinoma. We have used the anti‐p21 ras monoclonal antibody, RAP‐5, to assess the level and pattern of expression in formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissue sections of both normal and malignant urothelium. All 14 random normal bladder biopsies and 67 of 68 transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder were positively stained with the RAP‐5 antibody. In normal urothelium, p21 ras staining tended to be localized to the superficial cell layer. With increasing histological grade and/or depth of invasion of the tumour, a greater proportion of tissue sections demonstrated a staining pattern which was more uniform with respect to the different epithelial cell types. Serially diluting the primary antibody did not reveal any significant differences in the staining patterns observed. Despite the change in staining pattern with increasing grade, these results suggest that p21 ras expression by itself is not a useful indicator of the malignant phenotype.