title: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and its receptor in human meningiomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Meningiomas are the most common neoplasms of the central nervous system and are more frequent in women than in men. Many studies have been conducted to determine whether the progesterone receptor (PR) and estrogen receptor (ER) are present or absent in meningiomas. No previous studies, however, have investigated the status (presence or absence) of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and its receptor (GnRH-R), two major factors related to PR and ER, in meningiomas. This study aims to determine the status of GnRH and GnRH-R and to elucidate the correlations of GnRH and GnRH-R with PR, ER, and clinical features in meningiomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-two specimens of human meningiomas were obtained for immunohistochemical analysis with anti-GnRH, anti-GnRH-R, anti-PR, anti-ER, and anti-Ki-67 (MIB-1) antibodies, and for RT-PCR analysis of the mRNA expressions of GnRH and GnRH-R. Correlations of GnRH and GnRH-R with PR, ER, Ki-67, and clinical features such as age, sex, tumor grade, and tumor histology were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-eight (95.1%) of the 82 meningiomas reacted positively in the cytoplasm for the GnRH-R. Forty-nine (59.8%) of the 82 cases reacted positively in the cytoplasm for the GnRH. The positive immunoreactivity for GnRH-R and GnRH was confirmed by the RT-PCR analyses of mRNA. Forty-seven (96%) of the 49 cases with positive immunoreactivity for GnRH-R also had positive immunoreactivity for GnRH. PR expression was higher in the tumors positive for GnRH-R (p=0.002), and a significantly higher proportion of tumors from male patients exhibited positive immunoreactivity for GnRH (p=0.02). No significant correlations were found between the status of GnRH-R or GnRH with other clinicopathological features.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Over half of meningiomas may be regulated by GnRH-GnRH-R expression in an autocrine fashion. This unique expression profile of GnRH and GnRH-R may open the way to the development of GnRH analogs as a treatment tool in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kanazawa University Hospital, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirota
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Mitsutoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakada
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kita
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Higashi
authors.forename: Jun-ichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008579:Meningioma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D011966:Receptors, LHRH / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011966:Receptors, LHRH; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone