Wong M H W, Dobbins T A, Tseung J, Tran N, Lee C S, O'Brien C J, Clark J, Rose B R
The Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute, Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
J Clin Pathol. 2009 Sep;62(9):789-93. doi: 10.1136/jcp.2009.065102.
Pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary gland have gender and age distributions suggesting that oestrogen has a causal role. However, oestrogen receptor (ER)alpha is expressed at low levels in normal salivary gland tissues and data from salivary gland tumours are conflicting. There is preliminary evidence that the recently described ERbeta may be the major ER in salivary gland tissue. The aim of this study was to determine the nature and extent of ERbeta expression in pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary gland.
Pleomorphic adenomas and normal tissues of the parotid gland from 49 patients were tested for ERalpha and ERbeta expression by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry. Associations were sought with patient age and gender.
ERalpha and ERbeta expression was localised mainly to the nuclei of ductal cells in normal tissues and the epithelial components in pleomorphic adenomas. Within each tissue and receptor type there were no associations between ER positivity and patient age or gender. ERbeta was expressed in almost twice as many normal tissues and pleomorphic adenomas as ERalpha. Expression of ERbeta was also significantly higher in tumour compared with normal tissues.
This is thought to be the first study of ERbeta in pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary gland. Findings support ERbeta as the major ER in salivary glands, and provide evidence that ERbeta may have a role in the development of pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary gland.
涎腺多形性腺瘤的性别和年龄分布提示雌激素具有致病作用。然而，雌激素受体（ER）α在正常涎腺组织中的表达水平较低，且来自涎腺肿瘤的数据存在矛盾。有初步证据表明，最近发现的ERβ可能是涎腺组织中的主要雌激素受体。本研究的目的是确定涎腺多形性腺瘤中ERβ表达的性质和程度。
采用半定量免疫组织化学法检测49例患者腮腺多形性腺瘤和正常组织中ERα和ERβ的表达，并分析其与患者年龄和性别的关系。
ERα和ERβ的表达主要定位于正常组织中导管细胞的细胞核以及多形性腺瘤的上皮成分中。在每种组织和受体类型中，ER阳性与患者年龄或性别之间均无相关性。表达ERβ的正常组织和多形性腺瘤数量几乎是表达ERα 的两倍。与正常组织相比，肿瘤中ERβ的表达也显著更高。
本研究被认为是首次对涎腺多形性腺瘤中的ERβ进行研究。研究结果支持ERβ是涎腺中的主要雌激素受体，并为ERβ可能在涎腺多形性腺瘤的发生发展中发挥作用提供了证据。
