engleski

Protein profile of nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors, PRSS21 analysis

The world-wide incidence of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) has been continuously rising. Croatia is no exception to this, with the highest rise in incidence in the world, accompanied by a high rate of mortality compared to other countries. TGCT’s make up 95% of testicular tumors. TGCT are divided into pure seminomatous and non-seminomatous tumors, both considered to originate from germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS) as a precursor lesion. GCNIS is considered to be driven by an interplay of genetic, epigenetic and micro-environmental factors leading up to an arrest of gonocyte differentiation. Currently used biomarkers for testicular cancer lack specificity and sensitivity, and are used as accessories in diagnostics. A deeper look into molecular signature of nonseminomatous tumors is needed, due to their often times aggressive progression and cisplatin resistance. The aim of this study is to analyze protein expression in nonseminomatous tissue as a biomarker TGCT diagnostics and progression. For immunohistochemical detection of PRSS21, 69 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded non- seminomatous TGCT’s from KBC SM and 9 non- cancerous testes were used. Slides were analyzed semi-quantitatively by pathologists. The data was analyzed in GraphPad Prism using the Mann-Whitney test. The results have shown difference in PRSS21 expression between non-seminoma tissue and non- cancerous tissue. Expression of PRSS21 in non- seminoma is not uniform, with choriocarcinoma components showing a marked increase in expression. The difference in PRSS21 protein expression between various non-seminoma and healthy testis tissue shows potential in TGCT diagnosis, and opens questions on the role of PRSS21 in non- seminoma development and differentiation.

nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors ; PRSS21

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