[Expression of nucleostemin in prostate cancer tissues and its clinical significance]

Abstract

Objective: To explore the expression of the nucleostemin (NS) gene in prostate cancer (PCa) tissues and its clinical significance.

Methods: We detected the NS expression in PCa, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) tissues by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, and analyzed the correlation between the expression of the NS protein and the clinical variables of PCa.

Results: The NS mRNA level was markedly higher in the PCa than in the BPH tissues. The rates of strongly positive, positive and weakly positive expressions of the NS protein were 48.8%, 36.6% and 12.2% in PCa, 4.0%, 32.0% and 56.0% in BPH, and 5.0%, 25.0% and 60.0% in HGPIN, respectively. The expression level of the NS protein was significantly higher in PCa than in BPH and HGPIN (P < 0.05). The expression of the NS gene was negatively correlated with the degree of cell differentiation in the PCa tissues, the worse the differentiation, the higher the NS expression level.

Conclusion: The NS gene is highly expressed in PCa tissues and may have an important role in the adverse differentiation and malignant proliferation of prostate cancer.