title: Structural diversity of cancer-related and non-cancer-related prostate-specific antigen.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heterogeneity among the various molecular forms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has not been well characterized, despite the critical importance of PSA in the detection of prostate cancer. The purpose of this study was to examine PSA heterogeneity in cancerous and noncancerous materials by extensive and systematic protein analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A catalog of molecular forms of PSA was established with the PSA purified from seminal fluid. This catalog was used to analyze PSA heterogeneity in cancerous and noncancerous materials by immunoblotting with polyclonal antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PSA from noncancerous materials showed a wider range of molecular mass, from 6000 to 28 000 Da. PSA from cancerous materials did not contain lower molecular mass forms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PSA protein catalog may be useful for the analysis of differences among PSA forms in men with and without prostate cancer and for analysis of antibodies used to detect PSA.
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory and Department of Urology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Otsu, Japan 520-2192. isono@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Isono
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kageyama
authors.forename: Tatsuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshiki
mesh_terms: D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000592:standards; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry*; D012015:Reference Standards; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen