Stress-response (heat-shock) protein 72 expression in tumors of the central nervous system: an immunohistochemical investigation.

This report deals with the expression of stress-response (heat-shock) protein 72 (srp 72) in a series of 95 primary human brain tumors and 21 carcinoma metastases to the central nervous system (CNS). Immunohistochemical procedures were employed; cells of the human cervical cancer line HeLa S3 were used as positive controls. The protein was detected in 14/22 meningiomas and in 6/13 glioblastomas. Tumor cells expressing srp 72 were also found in 4/17 astrocytomas, 2/9 pituitary tumors, 2/14 primitive neuroectodermal tumors and 1/10 medulloblastomas. Whereas the majority (8/10) of the breast carcinoma metastases had tumor cells that expressed srp 72, only 2/11 lung tumor metastases were positively stained. These results document srp 72 expression by a variety of primary and metastatic tumors of the CNS.