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. 2023 Feb 23;30(3):2729-2742.
doi: 10.3390/curroncol30030206.

Gal-3 Protein Expression and Localization in Prostate Tumours

Tânia Lima  1   2 , Catarina Macedo-Silva  2   3 , Diana Felizardo  2   4 , João Fraga  4 , Isa Carneiro  4 , Carmen Jerónimo  2   3   5 , Rui Henrique  2   3   4   5 , Margarida Fardilha  1 , Rui Vitorino  1   6   7
Affiliations

Gal-3 Protein Expression and Localization in Prostate Tumours

Tânia Lima et al. Curr Oncol. .

Abstract

Gal-3 plays an important role in cell survival, mRNA splicing, and cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Depending on its cellular localization and cancer type, Gal-3 may have tumour-suppressive or tumour-promoting activities. Given the promising diagnostic role of Gal-3 in the urine of PCa patients found in our previous study, its concordant gene and protein expression levels, and its involvement in PCa-related biological processes (e.g., morphogenesis of the prostate gland epithelium), we aimed to investigate this protein immunohistochemically in tumour and normal prostate tissues. Gal-3 protein expression was evaluated in 48 tumour prostate tissues, eight normal prostate tissues and 14 adjacent-normal prostate tissues. Decreased Gal-3 staining was detected in tumour tissues compared with normal tissues. Although Gal-3 staining was decreased in tumour tissues with GS 5-8 and pT2 and pT3 stages compared with normal prostate tissue, no correlation was found between Gal-3 expression and PCa progression. In the present study, the pattern of cellular localization differed between groups, as Gal-3 was predominantly excluded from the nucleus in tumour tissues. Furthermore, Gal-3 had no significant effect on survival and relapse in these PCa patients. This work confirms Gal-3 as a promising marker for PCa diagnosis.

Keywords: Galectin-3; localization; marker; patient survival; prostate cancer; prostate tissue.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Gal-3 expression in prostate slides. (A) Tumour prostate tissue. Note: adenocarcinoma showing negative staining and non-neoplastic glands with moderate cytoplasmic and nuclear staining. (B) Adjacent-normal prostate tissue. Note: detail of non-neoplastic glands with nuclear membrane staining. (C) Non-neoplastic prostate. Atrophic glands showing moderate staining. Magnification factors of images A, B, C: ×10 and 40×; ×10 and 40×; 10×, respectively).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gal-3 expression in normal, tumour and adjacent-normal prostate tissues (A), in normal and tumour prostate tissues with different GSs (B) and clinical stages (C). Gal-3 expression in tumour-matched adjacent-normal prostate and tumour prostate tissues (D). Gal-3 expression in co-localized adjacent-normal cells and tumour cells (E). (* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001).
Figure 3
Figure 3
ROC curve of Gal-3 protein expression in normal and tumour prostate tissues. Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.9583(95% CI: 0.9042–1.012), p-value < 0.001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Gal-3 cellular localization in normal, tumour and adjacent-normal prostate tissues (A) and in co-localized adjacent-normal cells and tumour cells (B). The cytoplasmic location of Gal-3 is indicated by 1, while the cytoplasmic and nuclear location is indicated by 2. (** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Impact of Gal-3 expression on PCa patient survival (A) (p = 0.36) and relapse-free survival (B) (p = 0.95).
Figure 6
Figure 6
UALCAN analysis of: Gal-3 expression in normal and tumour prostate tissues from TCGA PCa cohorts (A), in normal and tumour prostate tissues with different GSs (B), Gal-3 promoter methylation levels in normal and tumour prostate tissues from TCGA PCa cohorts (C), impact of Gal-3 expression on PCa patient survival (D). (* p < 0.05; **** p < 0.0001).
Figure 7
Figure 7
GEPIA analysis of Gal-3 expression in normal and tumour prostate tissues (A) and its impact on PCa patient survival (B). (* p < 0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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