Expression of nectin-4 in prostate cancer

OBJECTIVE: Nectin-4 is a transmembrane protein belonging to the nectin family of immunoglobulin-like molecules which is found in the placenta and trachea under physiological conditions and its expression has been shown in many cancer types. We aimed to investigate for the 1st time nectin-4 expression in human prostate cancer tissues.
METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the prostate pathology specimens of 82 patients who underwent initial transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy or transurethral prostate resection and were found to have atypical small acinar prolifera-tion (ASAP) and incidentally prostate cancer. Tissue samples with prostatic cancer were used as a control for alpha-methyla-cyl-CoA racemase (AMACR), and benign prostatic glands in the same tissue provided the negative control. The intensity and extent of nectin-4 expression were determined microscopically using the histochemical scoring system which was defined as the product of the staining intensity (score: 0–3) and percentage of stained cells (0–100) at a given intensity.
RESULTS: We conducted immunohistochemical analysis of nectin-4 and AMACR expression in all 82 samples. While AMACR expression was positive in prostate cancer tissues with a GS of <7 (n=24, 100%), 7 (n=18, 100%), and ≥8 (n=15, 100%), it was negative in all ASAP samples (n=25, 100%) (p<0.001). Nectin-4 expression was not detected in any of the GS <7, GS 7, or GS ≥8 samples but was found in benign prostatic gland tissues and all 25 (100%) ASAP samples (p<0.001).
CONCLUSION: We found that nectin-4 was not expressed in prostate cancer tissues but was expressed in ASAP-and benign prostate gland containing tissues. We believe that prospective studies with more patients and samples including radical prostatectomy materials will reveal the relationship between nectin-4 and prostate cancer more clearly.

Prostat kanserinde nectin-4 ekspresyonu

AMAÇ: Nectin-4, plasenta ve trakeada fizyolojik koþullarda bulunan, immünoglobulin benzeri moleküllerin nektin familyasýna ait bir transmembran proteinidir ve birçok kanser türünde ekspresyonu gösterilmiþtir. Bu çalýþmada prostat kanseri dokularýnda ilk kez nectin-4 ekspresyonunu araþtýrmayý amaçladýk.
YÖNTEM: Transrektal ultrasonografi kýlavuzluðunda primer prostat biyopsisi veya transüretral prostat rezeksiyonu yapýlan ve atipik küçük asiner proliferasyon (ASAP) ve insidental prostat kanseri saptanan 82 hastanýn prostat patolojisi örneklerini retrospektif olarak inceledik. Prostat kanserli doku örnekleri AMACR için kontrol olarak kullanýlmýþ ve ayný dokudaki iyi huylu prostat bezleri negatif kontrol saðlamýþtýr. Nectin-4 ekspresyonunun yoðunluðu ve kapsamý, belirli bir yoðunlukta boyama yoðunluðu (skor 0-3) ve boyalý hücrelerin yüzdesi (0-100) olarak tanýmlanan histokimyasal puanlama sistemi kullanýlarak mikroskobik olarak belirlendi.
BULGULAR: 82 numunenin tamamýnda nectin-4 ve AMACR ekspresyonunun immünohistokimyasal analizini gerçekleþtirdik. AMACR ekspresyonu Gleason skor (GS) <7 (n=24, %100), 7 (n=18, %100) ve ≥8 (n=15, %100) olan prostat kanseri dokularýnda pozitif bulunurken, ASAP örneklerinin tümünde negatifti (n=25, %100) (p<0.001). Nectin-4 ekspresyonu GS <7, GS 7 veya GS ≥8 örneklerinin hiçbirinde saptanmadý, ancak iyi huylu prostat bezi dokularý ve 25 (%100) ASAP örneðinin tamamýnda pozitif saptandý (p<0.001).
SONUÇ: Nectin-4'ün prostat kanseri dokularýnda eksprese edilmediðini, ancak ASAP ve benign prostat bezi içeren dokularda eksprese edildiðini bulduk. Radikal prostatektomi materyallerini içeren daha fazla hasta ve örneklem ile yapýlacak prospektif çalýþmalarýn, Nectin-4 ile prostat kanseri arasýndaki iliþkiyi daha net ortaya koyacaðýna inanýyoruz. (NCI-2023-1-6)