gms | German Medical Science

27th German Cancer Congress Berlin 2006

German Cancer Society (Frankfurt/M.)

22. - 26.03.2006, Berlin

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Expression of inhibin/activin subunits (alpha, betaA and betaB) in normal and carcinogenic endometrial tissue: possible immunohistochemical differentiation markers

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  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Silvia Worbs - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany, München, Deutschland
  • Naim Shabani - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Doris Mayr - Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Darius Dian - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Christina Kuhn - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Udo Jeschke - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Klaus Friese - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • Ioannis Mylonas - 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

27. Deutscher Krebskongress. Berlin, 22.-26.03.2006. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2006. DocPO355

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dkk2006/06dkk465.shtml

Published: March 20, 2006

© 2006 Worbs et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Introduction: Inhibins (INH) are dimeric glycoproteins, composed of an alpha-subunit (INH-a) and one of two possible beta-subunits (INH-bA or -bB), with substantial roles in human reproduction and in endocrine-responsive tumours. Aims of this study were to determine the frequency and tissue distribution of INH-a, -bA and -bB in normal and malignant endometrium.

Materials: Samples were obtained from normal (n=46), atrophic (n=8) and endometrioid carcinoma tissue (EC; G1=93; G2=32; G3=14). The immunohistochemical reaction in intermediate trophoblast was analyzed with a semi-quantitative score (IRS) and statistical analysis was performed.

Results: INH-a, -bA and -bB were immunolabelled in normal and malignant endometrium.INH-a was significantly higher in normal compared to malignant endometrial tissue, showing a cyclical variation throughout the menstrual cycle. EC G3 did not express this subunit. INH-bA and bB showed specific staining reactions within the tumour cells. INH-bA highest intensity was observed in normal secretory phase compared to adenocarcinomas (p<0.05). For INH-bB, the significantly highest expression was noted EC G3 compared to EC G2 (p<0.05) and atrophic endometrial tissue.

Conclusion: INH-a was expressed in a declining relationship, suggesting a tumour suppressive function in EC. Interestingly, a high expression of INH-bB was observed in EC G3 compared to G2, suggesting an important role in endometrial carcinogenesis. However, the utilisation as specific tumour markers of these subunits remains still unclear.