Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University of Munich, Munich, Germany Department of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Cancer Biomark. 2010;8(3):137-44. doi: 10.3233/DMA-2011-0848.
Human granulosa cell (GC)-tumors are assumed to arise from ovarian GCs but to what extent they resemble normal human GCs is not well established. We examined whether a prominent feature of normal GCs, expression of the major gap junctional protein connexin 43 (Cx43), was retained in 14 human GC-tumor samples. Immunohistochemistry revealed areas of strong staining side by side with areas of weak and/or no staining. If present, cytoplasmic and membrane-associated Cx43 staining occurred. In cells with reduced or absent Cx43, another Cx was found, Cx32. Cx32, which is absent from non-tumor GCs, was present in GC-tumor cells co-expressed in part with Cx43 at gap junctional plaques. Expression of Cx32 and Cx43 was confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing in the majority of tumor samples. Thus GC-tumor cells are characterized by a partial or complete loss of Cx43 expression and expression of Cx32, which may be a marker for these rare tumors. It is possible that the pattern of Cxs may contribute to tumor formation and growth, as it may indicate aberrant and/or reduced cell-to-cell communication ability.
人卵巢颗粒细胞瘤（GC）被认为起源于卵巢颗粒细胞，但它们在多大程度上类似于正常的人卵巢颗粒细胞尚未得到很好的确立。我们研究了正常颗粒细胞的一个显著特征，即主要缝隙连接蛋白连接蛋白 43（Cx43）的表达，是否在 14 个人卵巢颗粒细胞瘤样本中保留。免疫组织化学显示，强染色区域与弱染色区域或无染色区域并排存在。如果存在，细胞质和膜相关的 Cx43 染色会发生。在 Cx43 减少或缺失的细胞中，发现了另一种 Cx，即 Cx32。Cx32 不存在于非肿瘤颗粒细胞中，在部分与 Cx43 共表达的 GC 肿瘤细胞中存在于缝隙连接斑上。在大多数肿瘤样本中，通过 RT-PCR 和测序证实了 Cx32 和 Cx43 的表达。因此，GC 肿瘤细胞的特征是 Cx43 表达的部分或完全缺失以及 Cx32 的表达，Cx32 可能是这些罕见肿瘤的标志物。Cx 的模式可能有助于肿瘤的形成和生长，因为它可能表明细胞间通讯能力异常和/或降低。
