ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Melanoma is a malignant neoplasm originating from melanocytes. It has been recently suggested that syndecan-2 may contribute to the aggressive phenotype and metastatic potential of melanoma in cell line studies. However, there is no quantitative analysis of syndecan-2 expression using human melanoma tissue. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the specific expression of syndecan-2 in human melanoma tissue. METHODS: A total of 35 sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues were investigated for syndecan-2 expression using immunohistochemical staining. Also, a total of 6 tissues and two kinds of cell lines were analyzed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining of 23 cases of melanoma tissue was done, and in 5 cases (21.7%), strong expression of syndecan-2 was seen. Also, syndecan-2 was detected in human melanoma tissue and MNT-1 melanoma cells by RT-PCR and western blot analysis. CONCLUSION: We suggest that syndecan-2 expression is increased in melanoma compared to nevus. The results of this study may help to explain the clinical features of melanoma and syndecan-2.