Premium
Evidence of mucin M1 antigens in seminal plasma and normal cells of human prostatic urethra in relation to embryonic development and tumors
Author(s) -
Daher N.,
Gonzales J.,
Gautier R.,
Bara J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
the prostate
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.295
H-Index - 123
eISSN - 1097-0045
pISSN - 0270-4137
DOI - 10.1002/pros.2990160107
Subject(s) - immunoperoxidase , prostatic urethra , mucin , epithelium , urethra , antigen , prostate , pathology , biology , histogenesis , monoclonal antibody , antibody , medicine , immunohistochemistry , anatomy , immunology , cancer
By employing immunoperoxidase methodology, using monoclonal antibodies against the peptide core of gastric mucins (M1 antigens), we demonstrate the presence of M1 mucinproducing cells that are associated with the prostatic urethral epithelium and located mainly in the veru montanum area near the prostatic ductal and utriculus junctions. The significance of these M1 cells is not yet clear. Using an immunoradiometric assay, these M1 mucins were found predominantly in the prostatic fraction obtained from seminal plasma. By chromatography on Sepharose 6B and 2B and cesium chloride gradient centrifugation, we demonstrate that high‐molecular‐weight components (> 10 7 Da) show a density of 1.45 g/ml, similar to mucins, and are immunochemically related to peptidic gastric M1 mucins. The particular location of these M1 antigens in prostatic adult urethra and their fetal expression in cloacal structures suggest that, in males, the prostatic urethral epithelium includes some remnant cells from the enteric cloaca. Finally, the presence of mucincontaining cells in the prostatic urethra could possibly explain the histogenesis of the rare benign villous tumors and primary mucinous adenocarcinomas arising from the prostatic urethral epithelium.