Androgen receptor status in endocrine-paracrine cell types of the normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic human prostate

Neuroendocrine differentiation is a frequent occurrence in common prostatic adenocarcinomas and may have prognostic implications in prostatic malignancies. In the present study, we used immunohistochemical double label methods to evaluate the nuclear androgen receptor (AR) status in endocrine-paracr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Virchows Archiv A Pathological Anatomy and Histopathology 1993-07, Vol.423 (4), p.291-294
Main Authors: BONKHOFF, H, STEIN, U, REMBERGER, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adenocarcinoma - chemistry
Adenocarcinoma - pathology
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Differentiation
Chromogranin A
Chromogranins - analysis
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
Male
Male genital diseases
Medical sciences
Neurosecretory Systems - chemistry
Neurosecretory Systems - cytology
Neurosecretory Systems - pathology
Prostate - chemistry
Prostate - cytology
Prostatic Hyperplasia - pathology
Prostatic Neoplasms - chemistry
Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology
Receptors, Androgen - analysis
Tumors
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Summary:Neuroendocrine differentiation is a frequent occurrence in common prostatic adenocarcinomas and may have prognostic implications in prostatic malignancies. In the present study, we used immunohistochemical double label methods to evaluate the nuclear androgen receptor (AR) status in endocrine-paracrine (EP) cells of normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic prostate including tumours that recurred after hormonal and radiation therapy. In normal and hyperplastic glands, EP cells characterized by the panendocrine marker chromogranin A (Chr A) did not reveal AR-positivity. This may indicate that prostatic EP cells represent an androgen-independent cell population whose regulatory functions are not influenced by circulating androgens. Unequivocal co-expression of Chr A and AR was very rarely detected in subsets of endocrine differentiated tumour cells in treated and untreated specimens. The widespread absence of nuclear AR in neuroendocrine tumour cells suggests that this phenotype belongs to those cell clones in prostate cancer which are initially androgen-independent and refractory to hormonal therapy.
ISSN:0174-7398
1432-2307
DOI:10.1007/bf01606893