title: Heterogeneous expression of serine protease inhibitor maspin in ovarian cancer.
abstract: Ovarian cancer (OC) is a disease with poor prognosis, and molecular markers are needed to improve understanding of disease progression and resultant treatment. Only limited data concerning the expression of maspin, a serine protease inhibitor, in ovarian cancer (OC) are available. This study investigates the prognostic value of maspin expression (ME) in various OC cell lines and clinical tissue specimens from OC patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tumour purified mouse anti-human maspin monoclonal antibody was applied to tissue specimens from 87 OC patients. ME was recorded by an immunoreactive score, which was correlated with grading, stage, histopathological subtypes and overall survival. Additionally ME was evaluated in established ovarian cancer cell lines (HEY, SKOV3, OVCAR3/8) and paclitaxel- and docetaxel-resistant HEY cells by QRT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was significant correlation between cytoplasmatic ME and overall survival (p<0.05). OC patients with high levels of ME had a median survival of 28 vs. 57 months for those with low levels. Significant differential ME was detected between benign, borderline ovarian lesions and OC, as well as among different tumour gradings. Normal ovarian epithelial cells expressed less maspin than ovarian cancer cells as measured by QRT-PCR. Docetaxel- and paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cell lines showed an even higher level of ME, suggesting an unfavourable role of ME in OC cell lines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maspin is expressed differentially in OC, and low expression levels of maspin are correlated with a longer survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Bauerschlag
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Habermann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weimer
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meinhold-Heerlein
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hilpert
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weigel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mundhenke
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jonat
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maass
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schem
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D057057:Serine Proteases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D015843:Serpins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C085344:SERPIN-B5; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; D015843:Serpins; D057057:Serine Proteases