title: Inhibin-α subunit expression in uterine endometrioid adenocarcinomas and endometrial cancer cell lines: a potential prognostic factor.
abstract: Inhibins/activins are secreted polypeptides of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, forming a family of dimeric, disulphide-linked proteins. Inhibins are composed of an α-subunit and one of two possible β-subunits. Both inhibins and activins have substantial roles in human reproduction and in endocrine-responsive tumors. However, the prognostic significance and clinical implications of the inhibin-α subunits in uterine endometrioid adenocarcinomas is still not clearly defined. A series of 231 uterine endometrioid adenocarcinomas of a previous well-characterized cohort were re-evaluated for the expression of the inhibin-α subunit and correlated with several clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome. Additionally, several endometrial epithelial cell lines (Ishikawa plus and minus, HEC-1A, HEC-1B and RL95-2) were analyzed for the expression of this subunit using immunohistochemical and molecular biological techniques. A significant association between the inhibin-α subunit and histological grade, surgical staging and myometrial invasion was demonstrated. Survival analysis demonstrated that inhibin-α immunoreactivity significantly affected progression-free, cause-specific and overall survival of patients with endometrioid adenocarcinomas. The analyzed endometrial cancer cell lines can also synthesize this subunit. Inhibin-α seems to have a substantial role in the carcinogenesis and pathology of uterine endometrioid carcinomas, and might be used as a marker to identify high-risk patients and may aid in the selection of patients for a more aggressive adjuvant therapy. Since uterine cancer cell lines express the inhibin-α subunit, they constitute adequate in vitro models for assessing its function in endometrial carcinogenesis. However, further research is warranted to elucidate the possible implications of inhibin-α in endometrial carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Maistrasse 11, D-80337 Munich, Germany. ioannis.mylonas@med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mylonas
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018269:Carcinoma, Endometrioid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007265:Inhibins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C094377:inhibin-alpha subunit; D007265:Inhibins