Author/Editor     Strojnik, Tadej; Zajc, Irena; Bervar, Aleš; Židanik, Boris; Golouh, Rastko; Kos, Janko; Dolenc, Vinko; Lah, Tamara
Title     Cathepsin B and its inhibitor stefin A in brain tumors
Type     članek
Source     Pflugers Arch
Vol. and No.     Letnik 439, št. 3 Suppl
Publication year     2000
Volume     str. R122-3
Language     eng
Abstract     Cysteine protease cathepsin B (CatB) and its endogenous inhibitor stefin A (StA) play an important role in tumor progression. Increase of CatB expression and lower levels of its inhibitors were associated with tumor malignancy in brain tumors. In this study of 100 patients, CatB was localized by immunostaining to both, tumor and endothelial cells of primary brain tissue. Significant correlation with poor prognosis was found by univariate Cox's regression model. Intense overall immunostaining and immunostaining in endothelial cells alone were prognostic for survival (p=0.003 in both). When comparing CatB expression at mRNA level, we found considerable differences between center and periphery of a tumor as well as between different tumor samples. StA mRNA was only detected in benign, but not in malignant tissues. We suggest that screening of cysteine-protease genes expression can be applied in clinical prognosis of brain tumors.
Descriptors     BRAIN NEOPLASMS
CATHEPSIN B
CYSTEINE PROTEINASE INHIBITORS
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
RNA, MESSENGER
PROGNOSIS