Iwamura M, Koshiba K, Cockett A T
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.
Prostate Suppl. 1998;8:14-7.
Prostatic neuroendocrine (NE) cells play an important role in the growth and differentiation of the prostate. We are still unable to characterize the exact mechanisms which lead to interactions between the epithelial cell and the NE cell. We offer several interactions generated by the NE cells, and speculate on some actions of selected NE cells.
We used thin sections of prostatic tissue made from 20 radical prostatectomies. Our team used validated rabbit polyclonal antibodies which were raised against human EGFR and C-erb B-2, using the streptavidin-peroxidase conjugate method.
A strong immunoreactivity was noted with both antibodies in the cytosol of some NE cells. These cells had a dendritic appearance, and they were located in the acini and ducts of small-to-moderate-sized prostatic glands. Double immunostaining revealed the colocalization of both antigens with chromogranin A (CgA), a polypeptide that is expressed by NE cells. Of interest was the finding that EGFR and C-erb B-2 were colocalized as well as independently expressed by separate populations of NE cells.
We conclude that NE cells may be regulated by the HER protein family, probably in a ligand-specific fashion. This is a revised report which identifies a pathway regulating NE cells, and their interactions with epithelial cells.
前列腺神经内分泌（NE）细胞在前列腺的生长和分化中起重要作用。我们仍无法确定导致上皮细胞与NE细胞相互作用的确切机制。我们提出了由NE细胞产生的几种相互作用，并推测了某些NE细胞的作用。
我们使用了从20例根治性前列腺切除术中获取的前列腺组织薄片。我们的团队使用针对人表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）和C- erb B-2产生的经过验证的兔多克隆抗体，采用链霉亲和素-过氧化物酶共轭法。
在一些NE细胞的细胞质中，两种抗体均呈现强免疫反应性。这些细胞呈树突状外观，位于中小前列腺腺泡和导管中。双重免疫染色显示两种抗原与嗜铬粒蛋白A（CgA）共定位，嗜铬粒蛋白A是一种由NE细胞表达的多肽。有趣的是，发现EGFR和C- erb B-2既共定位，又由不同群体的NE细胞独立表达。
我们得出结论，NE细胞可能受HER蛋白家族调控，可能是以配体特异性方式。这是一份修订报告，确定了一条调节NE细胞及其与上皮细胞相互作用的途径。
