The expression of placental-type glutathione S-transferase (GST-pi) in human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and normal human skin.
The expression of human placental-type glutathione S-transferase (GST-pi) was investigated in human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and normal skin using Northern blot and immunohistochemical analysis. In Northern blot examination, the expression of GST-pi transcript was recognized in all instances, and SCC showed a significantly higher expression of GST-pi than normal skin. In immunohistochemical examination, GST-pi was stained well in the cytoplasm of all cells of the stratum granulosum, many cells of the stratum spinosum and a few cells of the stratum basale in normal skin. Some cells of the stratum spinosum and almost all cells of the stratum basale showed only a weakly positive or almost negative reaction for GST-pi. No nuclear staining of GST-pi was obvious in normal epidermal cells. In SCC, many cells showed strong positivity for GST-pi in the cytoplasm, and some were obviously accompanied by nuclear staining of GST-pi. These findings suggest that GST-pi exists mainly in many cells in the upper layers of the normal epidermis and that GST-pi is involved in the process of carcinogenesis.
Shimizu
K
K
Division of Dermatology, Nagasaki Chuo National Hospital, Omura, Japan.
Toriyama
F
F
Yoshida
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010920:Placenta / Q000201:enzymology; D012867:Skin / Q000201:enzymology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*
D005982:Glutathione Transferase