1. Center For Prostate Disease Research, Department of Surgery, United States Military Cancer Institute, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda MD 20814, USA.
J Cancer. 2010 Oct 25;1:197-208. doi: 10.7150/jca.1.197.
Oncogenic activation of the ETS Related Gene (ERG) in humans was originally identified in subsets of Ewing sarcomas, myeloid leukemias and, recently, in the majority of prostate cancers. Expression of human ERG protein and consequently its functions in normal and disease states needs to be better understood in light of its suggested role in cell differentiation and proliferation. Here, we analyzed temporal and spatial expression of the Erg (mouse protein) by immunohistochemical analysis during mouse embryonic and adult organogenesis using a highly specific ERG monoclonal antibody (ERG MAb). This study establishes widespread immunolocalization of Erg protein in endothelial cells and restricted expression in precartilage and hematopoietic tissues. Intriguingly, Erg is not expressed in any epithelial tissue including prostate epithelium, or in infiltrating lymphocytes that are occasionally seen in the prostate environment, a common site of tumors with ERG rearrangements and unscheduled ERG expression. These findings will further aid in investigations of Erg functions in normal and disease conditions.
在人类中，ETS 相关基因 (ERG) 的致癌激活最初在尤文肉瘤、髓系白血病亚组中被发现，最近在大多数前列腺癌中也被发现。鉴于 ERG 在细胞分化和增殖中的作用，需要更好地了解其在正常和疾病状态下的人 ERG 蛋白表达及其功能。在这里，我们使用高度特异性的 ERG 单克隆抗体 (ERG MAb) 通过免疫组织化学分析分析了 Erg（小鼠蛋白）在小鼠胚胎和成年器官发生过程中的时空表达。这项研究确立了 Erg 蛋白在血管内皮细胞中的广泛免疫定位和在软骨前体和造血组织中的限制表达。有趣的是，erg 在包括前列腺上皮在内的任何上皮组织中均不表达，也不在前列腺环境中偶尔见到的浸润性淋巴细胞中表达，而前列腺是 ERG 重排和非计划 ERG 表达的肿瘤的常见部位。这些发现将进一步有助于研究 erg 在正常和疾病状态下的功能。
