Expression and antigenicity of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis family member, in bladder cancer: implications for specific immunotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the expression of survivin in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and to study whether survivin is a transitional cell carcinoma-specific antigen that could be a target for immunotherapy. Survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis family member, has been reported to be expressed in various cancers but not in normal adult tissues.


METHODS
Immunohistochemical staining for survivin and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I was performed on specimens from 88 patients who underwent transurethral resection and radical cystectomy. To determine whether survivin was recognized as a tumor antigen by the host immune system, we assessed anti-survivin antibodies in the sera of 52 patients and 18 healthy volunteers with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using recombinant survivin.


RESULTS
Survivin and HLA class I were expressed in 77 (87.5%) and 59 (67.0%) of the 88 bladder cancer specimens, respectively, and 56 (63.6%) expressed both survivin and HLA class I. The absorbance values of anti-survivin antibodies in patients with bladder cancer were significantly greater than those in the healthy volunteers. A relationship was found between the level of serum anti-survivin antibodies and the staining intensity of survivin in the specimen.


CONCLUSIONS
Survivin is expressed in carcinoma of the bladder with high sensitivity. It is suggested that survivin is presented on HLA class I molecules of antigen-presenting cells in 64% of patients with bladder cancer. Therapeutic targeting of survivin in bladder cancer is a future possibility.
Kitamura
Hiroshi
H
Department of Urology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. hkitamu@sapmed.ac.jp
Torigoe
Toshihiko
T
Honma
Ichiya
I
Asanuma
Hiroko
H
Nakazawa
Emiri
E
Shimozawa
Kumiko
K
Hirohashi
Yoshihiko
Y
Sato
Eiji
E
Sato
Noriyuki
N
Tsukamoto
Taiji
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology*; D000077022:Survivin; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D000077022:Survivin