BAG3 protein delocalisation in prostate carcinoma.
Despite the progressive increase of early diagnosis, a subset of prostate cancers show a metastasizing and lethal course, not always predictable upon the traditional prognostic parameters. The object of this study was to investigate the role of the survival co-chaperone protein BAG3 as a new prognostic marker for prostate cancer. BAG3 was detected by immunohistochemistry in 55 specimens of surgically removed prostate carcinomas and in 15 surgical specimens of non-neoplastic prostate tissues. Results were compared with clinic-pathological data and outcome of patients and statistically evaluated. BAG3 resulted expressed in all the cases: Non-neoplastic prostate tissue showed a cytoplasmatic staining with apical reinforcement, a finding which appears consistent with the reported connection of the protein with the membrane focal cell-adhesion complexes. In prostate carcinomas, BAG3 showed a progressive decrease of the expression level from well- to low-differentiated carcinoma, coupled with the loss of polarisation of the signal in metastasizing cases. These results indicate that BAG3 intra-cytoplasmic delocalisation is a specific feature of cancer versus non-neoplastic prostate and a candidate new marker for prediction of prostate cancer invasiveness and behaviour.
Department of Biomorphological and Functional Sciences, Pathology Section, University Federico II of Naples, School of Medicine, Via S. Pansini, 5, 80131, Naples, Italy. staibano@unina.it
Stefania
S
Staibano
Massimo
M
Mascolo
Maria
M
Di Benedetto
Maria Luisa
ML
Vecchione
Gennaro
G
Ilardi
Giuseppe
G
Di Lorenzo
Riccardo
R
Autorino
Vincenzo
V
Salerno
Antonella
A
Morena
Alba
A
Rocco
Maria Caterina
MC
Turco
Emilio
E
Morelli
D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000378:metabolism*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology
D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C414431:BAG3 protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor