Aydin Oguz, Yildiz Levent, Baris Sancar, Dundar Cihad, Karagoz Filiz
Department of Pathology, Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine, Atakum, Samsun, 55139, Turkey.
Department of Public Health, Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey.
Diagn Pathol. 2015 Apr 21;10:34. doi: 10.1186/s13000-015-0266-4.
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is an oncofetal protein which is encoded by GPC3 gene and takes role in the regulation of cell division and apoptosis. Overexpression of GPC3 has been reported in some types of cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs and testicular germ cell tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of GPC3 in the non-neoplastic urothelium and in urothelial carcinoma (UC). We also aimed to explore the alterations in the GPC3 expression according to the grade and the invasiveness of UC.
GPC3 expression was studied in 108 UC cases by using immunohistochemistry. Each section was evaluated in terms of the extensiveness and intensity of GPC3 staining. Scores of immunostaining were correlated with tumor grade and stage.
GPC3 expression was observed in 38 cases (35.2%). GPC3 expression was positive in 43.6% of high and in 13.3% of low grade UC (p: 0.003). In 19 UC cases biopsy also harbored non-neoplastic urothelium which showed no staining for GPC3. The difference in staining percentages between low and high grade UCs, suggests that GPC3 staining could be used as an adjunctive marker in cases where the distinction between the low and high grade tumors is difficult. In addition, lack of staining in the non-neoplastic urothelial areas in 19 cases raises the possibility of the use of GPC3 staining for the distinction between neoplastic and non-neoplastic urothelium, especially in punch biopsy samples.
Based on our results potential role of GPC3 in urothelial carcinogenesis warrants further investigation, especially the potential use of GPC3 for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2260833001522844.
磷脂酰肌醇蛋白聚糖-3（GPC3）是一种癌胚蛋白，由GPC3基因编码，参与细胞分裂和凋亡的调控。据报道，GPC3在某些类型的癌症中过度表达，如肝细胞癌（HCC）、黑色素瘤、肺鳞状细胞癌和睾丸生殖细胞肿瘤。本研究的目的是调查GPC3在非肿瘤性尿路上皮和尿路上皮癌（UC）中的免疫组化表达。我们还旨在探讨根据UC的分级和侵袭性，GPC3表达的变化情况。
采用免疫组化法研究108例UC病例中GPC3的表达。对每个切片的GPC3染色范围和强度进行评估。免疫染色评分与肿瘤分级和分期相关。
38例（35.2%）观察到GPC3表达。GPC3在43.6%的高级别和13.3%的低级别UC中呈阳性表达（p：0.003）。在19例UC病例中，活检组织还包含非肿瘤性尿路上皮，其GPC3染色呈阴性。低级别和高级别UC染色百分比的差异表明，在难以区分低级别和高级别肿瘤的病例中，GPC3染色可作为辅助标志物。此外，19例非肿瘤性尿路上皮区域缺乏染色，这增加了使用GPC3染色区分肿瘤性和非肿瘤性尿路上皮的可能性，尤其是在穿刺活检样本中。
基于我们的结果，GPC3在尿路上皮癌发生中的潜在作用值得进一步研究，特别是GPC3在治疗和诊断方面的潜在用途。
本文的虚拟切片可在此处找到：http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2260833001522844。
