Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens, Greece.
Prostate. 2011 Dec;71(16):1780-9. doi: 10.1002/pros.21395. Epub 2011 Apr 25.
Recently accumulating evidences underline the central role of the kallikrein-related peptidases family (KLKs) in prostate cancer (PCa) development and progression. The KLK4 is a prostate highly expressed gene under the transcriptional control of androgens, encoding for the KLK4 extracellular serine protease. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression status of KLK4 in PCa patients in order to reveal its utility in PCa establishment and clinical management.
Prostatic tissue specimens were obtained from 60 PCa and 59 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) randomly chosen patients. Using a developed quantitative real-time RT-PCR method, KLK4 expression levels were determined in the specimens of the two patients' cohorts. Advance biostatistical analysis was completed to explore the clinical value of KLK4 expression in PCa and BPH patients.
PCa patients presented a statistically significant (P = 0.002) elevation, more than threefold, of the KLK4 transcripts compared to BPH ones. The KLK4 expression levels were also positive correlated with PCa patients' stage (P = 0.031) and preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) serum concentrations (P < 0.001). ROC curve and logistic regression analysis revealed the significant (P = 0.002) and the independent (P = 0.044) clinical value of the KLK4 expression for the discrimination of PCa from BPH patients.
The KLK4 expression analysis reveals its up-regulation in PCa cells, which is significantly associated with the advanced stages of the disease and the patients' preoperative PSA serum levels. KLK4 quantification serves as an independent biomarker for the discrimination between the malignant and the benign nature of prostate tumors.
最近越来越多的证据强调了激肽释放酶相关肽酶家族（KLKs）在前列腺癌（PCa）发展和进展中的核心作用。KLK4 是一种在雄激素转录控制下高度表达的前列腺基因，编码 KLK4 细胞外丝氨酸蛋白酶。本研究旨在调查 KLK4 在 PCa 患者中的表达状态，以揭示其在 PCa 建立和临床管理中的应用。
随机选择 60 名 PCa 和 59 名良性前列腺增生（BPH）患者的前列腺组织标本。使用开发的定量实时 RT-PCR 方法，确定两个患者队列标本中的 KLK4 表达水平。完成了先进的生物统计学分析，以探讨 KLK4 表达在 PCa 和 BPH 患者中的临床价值。
与 BPH 相比，PCa 患者的 KLK4 转录本表达水平显著升高（P=0.002），超过三倍。KLK4 表达水平与 PCa 患者的分期（P=0.031）和术前前列腺特异性抗原（PSA）血清浓度（P<0.001）呈正相关。ROC 曲线和逻辑回归分析显示，KLK4 表达对区分 PCa 和 BPH 患者具有显著（P=0.002）和独立（P=0.044）的临床价值。
KLK4 表达分析显示其在 PCa 细胞中上调，与疾病的晚期和患者术前 PSA 血清水平显著相关。KLK4 定量可作为区分前列腺肿瘤良恶性的独立生物标志物。
