ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Numerous problems are associated with biochemical androgen receptor (AR) assay performance and interpretation in prostatic cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine if a novel immunocytochemical AR assay performed on intact tissue sections would prove useful in prognosticating endocrine response and survival. METHODS: A prospective study was done on 63 prostatic carcinomas maintained in liquid nitrogen for over a decade. The study used the peroxidase-antiperoxidase system and a polyclonal anti-AR antibody. RESULTS: Marked tissue and cellular heterogeneity of nuclear AR was apparent. A cut-off of 10% AR-positive cells maximized assay prognostic efficiency. Frequency of positivity was 48% and correlated significantly with endocrine response (p = 0.03), time to progression (p = 0.0016), and survival (p = 0.02), but not with grade, stage, or ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: This AR assay could be prognostically useful in the clinical management of prostate cancer and is suitable for use in the community hospital laboratory.
Subject(s)
Prostatic Neoplasms/metabolism , Receptors, Androgen/metabolism , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Endothelium/metabolism , Endothelium/ultrastructure , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Predictive Value of Tests , Prognosis , Proportional Hazards Models , Prospective Studies , Prostatic Neoplasms/mortality , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , Prostatic Neoplasms/therapy , Prostatic Neoplasms/ultrastructure , Sensitivity and Specificity , Staining and Labeling , Survival Rate , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Specific binding sites for estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone have been demonstrated in the pituitary gland of mature male and female platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus). With a histochemical procedure, fluorescent-steroid-hormone conjugates were localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus of the gonadotrops of the caudal pars distalis (CPD) and in cells of the pars intermedia (PI) previously demonstrated to contain immunoreactive gonadotropin. The specificity of the response was confirmed by means of competitive binding analyses and by using fluoresceinated BSA not linked to steroids. The physiological significance of steroid binding in the PI, as well as in the CPD, is discussed in the light of other recent studies on the pituitary gland of the platyfish.
Subject(s)
Fishes/metabolism , Pituitary Gland/analysis , Receptors, Androgen , Receptors, Estrogen/analysis , Receptors, Progesterone/analysis , Receptors, Steroid/analysis , Animals , Binding Sites , Cell Nucleus/analysis , Cytoplasm/analysis , Estradiol/metabolism , Female , Histocytochemistry , Hydroxyprogesterones/metabolism , Male , Pituitary Gland/ultrastructure , Pituitary Gland, Anterior/analysis , Testosterone/metabolismABSTRACT
A histochemical method for the detection and localization of progesterone receptors in human breast cancer has been developed employing a fluorescein labeled conjugate of bovine serum albumin linked to a progestin as the binding hormone. Considerable tumor cell receptor heterogeneity was apparent and nuclear binding was frequently noted. The results of the new assay correlated with those obtained by dextran-coated charcoal assay in 91 per cent of specimens.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/metabolism , Receptors, Progesterone/analysis , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Female , Histocytochemistry , Humans , MethodsABSTRACT
Nonpregnant and pregnant rats were given methadone for varying time periods. Myenteric plexus was then examined for methadone by immunofluorescence and the results compared to similar studies of the central nervous system. Nonpregnant animals showed positive ganglion cells 2 weeks before methadone was detected in the brain. Additionally, maternal ganglion cells were more frequently positive than those of their offspring. These findings indicate fundamental differences in the response of peripheral and central neurons to methadone. Thus, studying the effects of opiates on isolated strips of bowel may be of little value in furthering understanding of the action of narcotics upon the brain.
Subject(s)
Central Nervous System/metabolism , Myenteric Plexus/metabolism , Animals , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Ganglia/metabolism , Male , Maternal-Fetal Exchange , Methadone/metabolism , Pregnancy , RatsABSTRACT
Jejunal mucosa from 7 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (A.L.S.), 20 newly reported patients with multiple sclerosis (M.S.), and 35 control patients without either disease was studied by immunofluorescence. An immune reaction was present in all A.L.S. specimens and consisted of altered ratios of immunoglobulin-labelled cells in the lamina propria, complement-labelled cells in the same location, and, in some, immunoglobulin and complement deposits in the epithelial basement membrane. Poliovirus antigen was detected in 4 cases, and in 1 of the these cases measles antigen was also present. A fifth specimen showed large amounts of herpesvirus antigen. In 2 cases studied at necropsy, both viral infection and immunological change was confined to the proximal jejunum. Measles antigen was identified in every case of M.S., and in biopsy specimens from 16 of the 20 M.S. patients immunological reactions similar to those seen in A.L.S. were present. With 2 exceptions, the controls did not show these changes in the jejunal mucosa. The exceptions were a patient with Friedreich's ataxia, who had an increase of IgG-labelled cells and some complement-bearing cells in the lamina propria, and a patient diagnosed as having non-tropical sprue, in whom large quantities of herpes antigen were seen.
Subject(s)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/immunology , Antigens, Viral/isolation & purification , Jejunum/immunology , Multiple Sclerosis/immunology , Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/pathology , Animals , Complement C3/analysis , Complement C4/analysis , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Humans , Immunoglobulins/analysis , Jejunum/pathology , Measles virus/immunology , Multiple Sclerosis/pathology , Poliovirus/immunology , Rabbits , Simplexvirus/immunologyABSTRACT
Immunoglobulin deposits and DNA were identified by use of immunofluorescence microscopy within the ciliary process and choroid of a majority of (NZB X W)F1 mice with murine lupus. The number of animals with such deposits increased from 57% at 36 weeks of age to 90% at one year of age. Ultrastructural examination showed electron-dense deposits between the basement laminae of the endothelium and pigmented epithelium of the ciliary process, accompanied by alterations in the epithelial basement membranes. Similar electron-dense deposits were also identified in the vicinity of the lamina choroidocapillaris. The titer of antibody to DNA did not correlate with the presence of ocular deposits, suggesting that time is an important factor in the development of ocular immunopathology in these animals.
Subject(s)
Antigen-Antibody Complex , Ciliary Body/immunology , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/immunology , Age Factors , Animals , Choroid/immunology , DNA/metabolism , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Immunoglobulins/metabolism , Kidney/immunology , Mice , Mice, Inbred NZBABSTRACT
Utilizing antibarbiturate serum in an indirect immunofluorescence system, phenobarbital has been detected in the central nervous system of mice given an overdose of drugs. Localizaiton was primarily within neurons of the limbic system, caudate nucleus, cerebellum, cervical spinal cord and trigeminal ganglion. The technic may be of value in acquiring additional information about the barbiturates as well as being of value to the forensic pathologist.
Subject(s)
Central Nervous System/metabolism , Phenobarbital/metabolism , Animals , Caudate Nucleus/metabolism , Cerebellum/metabolism , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Limbic System/metabolism , Male , Mice , Spinal Cord/metabolism , Trigeminal Nerve/metabolismABSTRACT
In an attempt to correlate the presence of subepidermal and renal glomerular deposits in murine lupus, skin and kidney tissue from 67 (NZB X W)F1 mice was examined by direct immunofluorescence and the results tabulated. Between 36 and 43 weeks of age, deposits in both locations were detected in only 50.5% of the mice, and between 44 and 52 weeks, in only 79.0%. The titer of antibody to DNA did not correlate with the presence of subepidermal deposits even though DNA was demonstrated at the epidermal-dermal interface. It is concluded that the absence of immunoglobulin in the subepidermis does not preclude the presence of renal deposits, and it is hazardous to attempt to predict underlying glomerular deposition by performing immunofluorescence examination of skin in murine lupus.
