Immunohistochemical study of Fas, Fas ligand and interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme expression in human prostatic cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the cellular expression of Fas, Fas ligand and interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) in prostatic cancer.


METHODS
Specimens of prostate were obtained from 21 patients (mean age 66 years, SD 5) undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostatic cancer. Nine of the 21 patients had received endocrine therapy before surgery. Specimens were also obtained from 10 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and during autopsy from 10 patients who had died from hormone-unresponsive prostate cancer. Paraffin-embedded sections were cut from the specimens and stained immunohistochemically to detect Fas, Fas ligand and ICE.


RESULTS
Fas was expressed in all 21 of the cancer specimens while Fas ligand was detected in none and ICE was expressed in 11. The difference between the expression of Fas and ICE was significant (P < 0.001). ICE was expressed in nine of 12 patients who were untreated before surgery and in two of nine treated with endocrine therapy (P < 0.05). Fas expression was detected in the specimens from all 10 patients with BPH and in all 10 autopsy specimens; the expression, tended to be more marked than that in specimens from total prostatectomy (P < 0.1).


CONCLUSIONS
The expression of ICE was weaker than that of Fas in the total prostatectomy specimens, suggesting a possible interruption of the apoptotic signalling pathway. Prostates with BPH and hormone-unresponsive cancer therefore showed no appreciable change in Fas expression when compared with total prostatectomy samples.
Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Y
Y
Sasaki
H
H
Ahmed
T
T
Takeuchi
N
N
Moriyama
K
K
Kawabe
D000368:Aged; D020170:Caspase 1; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000378:metabolism*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000378:metabolism*
C505661:FASLG protein, human; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D019014:fas Receptor; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D020170:Caspase 1