Immunohistochemical expression of caspase-1 and -9, uncleaved caspase-3 and -6, cleaved caspase-3 and -6 as well as Bcl-2 in benign epithelium and cancer of the prostate

Ummanni,Ramesh; Lehnigk,Ulrike; Zimmermann,Uwe; Woenckhaus,Christian; Walther,Reinhard; Giebel,Jürgen

doi:10.3892/etm_00000008

Immunohistochemical expression of caspase-1 and -9, uncleaved caspase-3 and -6, cleaved caspase-3 and -6 as well as Bcl-2 in benign epithelium and cancer of the prostate

Authors:
- Ramesh Ummanni
- Ulrike Lehnigk
- Uwe Zimmermann
- Christian Woenckhaus
- Reinhard Walther
- Jürgen Giebel
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Affiliations: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany
Published online on: January 1, 2010 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm_00000008
Pages: 47-52

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Abstract

Activation of caspases is an essential prerequisite for induction of apoptosis. In many tumors caspases are down-regulated, while anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 is up-regulated. To elucidate their putative role in prostate cancer (PCa) we determined the expression of different caspases and Bcl-2 in benign prostate epithelium (BPE) and PCa. Paraffin-embedded prostate whole mounts were cut (4 µm) and investigated immunohistochemically using monoclonal antibodies against caspase-1 and -9, uncleaved caspase-3 and -6, cleaved caspase-3 and -6, and Bcl-2. In BPE all caspases were localized to the cytoplasm of glandular cells. In PCa we found a statistically significant reduction in cleaved caspase-3 and -6 compared to the levels in BPE. The Bcl-2 protein was detected in the basal compartment of epithelial gland cells, but no immunostaining was noted in PCa. The decreased immunoreactivity of activated caspases probably indicates an alteration in post-translational cleavage that may play an important role during PCa progression.

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