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Expression of the tumour antigen T21 is up‐regulated in prostate cancer and is associated with tumour stage
Author(s) -
Miles Amanda K.,
Rogers Alistair,
McCulloch Thomas,
Hodi Zsolt,
McArdle Stephanie,
Bishop Michael,
Rees Robert C.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-410x.2011.10407.x
Subject(s) - prostate , prostate cancer , medicine , tissue microarray , pathology , immunohistochemistry , pca3 , hyperplasia , cancer , stage (stratigraphy) , biomarker , oncology , biology , paleontology , biochemistry
What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? T21 is an immunogenic prostate‐associated tumor antigen identified by SEREX expression cloning and shown to have a highly restricted mRNA expression profile. This study shows the expression of T21 at the protein level in a panel of tissues and cell lines and demonstrates increasing levels of T21 protein expression in patients with more advanced stage prostate cancer. OBJECTIVES• To define the expression pattern of the tumour antigen T21 at the protein level in prostate tissues, prostate cell lines and a panel of normal tissues. • To correlate the expression pattern of T21 in prostate cancer with clinical parameters.PATIENTS AND METHODS• Tissue samples were collected from 79 patients presenting at clinic with either prostate cancer (63 patients) or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, 16 patients). • A tissue microarray (TMA) was constructed from 44 of the prostate cancer tissues and areas of benign disease (43 patients) from these tissues were also included on the TMA. The remaining tissues (prostate cancer 19 patients and BPH 16 patients) were mounted fresh frozen onto cork boards and sectioned. • Full ethical approval was granted for all aspects of the study and informed patient consent was taken before tissue collection. • Immunohistochemistry was used on the prostate tumour TMA, the normal tissue TMA and the fresh‐frozen prostate tissues. Fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry was performed on prostate cell lines.RESULTS• Expression of T21 was highly restricted within normal tissues with only the stomach, ovary, breast and prostate having detectable T21 expression. • T21 was significantly over‐expressed in prostate cancer glands compared with benign tissue and was present in >80% of the malignant specimens analysed. • Increased expression was positively correlated to pathological stage of prostate tumours. • Additionally, T21 was associated with Gleason grade and prostate‐specific antigen recurrence, although statistical significance was not reached in this restricted cohort of patients.CONCLUSION• Taken together these results show that T21 is a potential new biomarker for advanced disease and that elevated levels of T21 appear relevant to prostate cancer development.