BAG3 protein delocalisation in prostate carcinoma

Tumour Biol. 2010 Oct;31(5):461-9. doi: 10.1007/s13277-010-0055-3. Epub 2010 Jun 10.

Abstract

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.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / metabolism*
  • Adenocarcinoma / metabolism*
  • Adenocarcinoma / mortality
  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis*
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Prognosis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / mortality
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins
  • BAG3 protein, human
  • Biomarkers, Tumor