Khin Ei Ei, Kikkawa Fumitaka, Ino Kazuhiko, Suzuki Takahiro, Shibata Kiyosumi, Kajiyama Hiroaki, Tamakoshi Koji, Mizutani Shigehiko
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2003 Apr;22(2):175-80. doi: 10.1097/00004347-200304000-00010.
This study investigated the immunohistochemical expression and localization of neutral endopeptidase (NEP) (CD10), which plays a functional role by degrading bioactive peptides, in ovarian tumors. In normal ovaries and benign cystadenomas, NEP was not detected in any epithelial or stromal cells. In borderline tumors, NEP was detected in the stromal cells in 6 of 7 serous tumors, but not in those from mucinous tumors. In ovarian carcinomas, NEP in the stromal cells was observed in 13 of 20 serous, 8 of 10 endometrioid, and 7 of 10 clear-cell adenocarcinomas. NEP was weakly detected in only 1 of 9 mucinous adenocarcinomas. The staining intensity of stromal NEP was decreased in grades 2 and 3 serous carcinomas compared with that in grade 1 serous carcinomas. In conclusion, NEP was specifically expressed in the stroma of borderline and malignant ovarian tumors, but not in adenomas. Furthermore, stromal NEP was downregulated as the histological grade advanced. These results suggest that NEP may play a role in the regulation of neoplastic transformation and tumor differentiation in epithelial ovarian carcinomas.
本研究调查了中性内肽酶（NEP）（CD10）在卵巢肿瘤中的免疫组化表达及定位，NEP通过降解生物活性肽发挥功能作用。在正常卵巢和良性囊腺瘤中，未在任何上皮或基质细胞中检测到NEP。在交界性肿瘤中，7例浆液性肿瘤中有6例在基质细胞中检测到NEP，而黏液性肿瘤中未检测到。在卵巢癌中，20例浆液性癌中有13例、10例子宫内膜样癌中有8例、10例透明细胞腺癌中有7例在基质细胞中观察到NEP。9例黏液腺癌中仅1例微弱检测到NEP。与1级浆液性癌相比，2级和3级浆液性癌中基质NEP的染色强度降低。总之，NEP在交界性和恶性卵巢肿瘤的基质中特异性表达，而在腺瘤中不表达。此外，随着组织学分级进展，基质NEP表达下调。这些结果表明，NEP可能在上皮性卵巢癌的肿瘤转化和肿瘤分化调节中发挥作用。
