SOX2 expression in the developing, adult, as well as, diseased prostate.

BACKGROUND: SOX2 is a member of SOX (SRY-related high mobility group box) family of transcription factors. METHODS: In this study, we examined the expression of SOX2 in murine and human prostatic specimens by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: We found that SOX2 was expressed in murine prostates during budding morphogenesis and in neuroendocrine (NE) prostate cancer (PCa) murine models. Expression of SOX2 was also examined in human prostatic tissue. We found that SOX2 was expressed in 26 of the 30 BPH specimens. In these BPH samples, expression of SOX2 was limited to basal epithelial cells. In contrast, 24 of the 25 primary PCa specimens were negative for SOX2. The only positive primary PCa was the prostatic NE tumor, which also showed co-expression of synaptophysin. Additionally, the expression of SOX2 was detected in all prostatic NE tumor xenograft lines. Furthermore, we have examined the expression of SOX2 on a set of tissue microarrays consisting of metastatic PCa tissues. Expression of SOX2 was detected in at least one metastatic site in 15 of the 24 patients with metastatic castration-resistant PCa; and the expression of SOX2 was correlated with synaptophysin. CONCLUSIONS: SOX2 was expressed in developing prostates, basal cells of BPH, as well as prostatic NE tumors.

Regulation of phagosomal acidification. Differential targeting of Na+/H+ exchangers, Na+/K+-ATPases, and vacuolar-type H+-atpases.

Vacuolar-type (V) ATPases are thought to be the main determinant of phagosomal acidification. In phagosomes containing mycobacteria, which ostensibly impair the delivery of V-ATPases to the phagosomal membrane, the pH would be expected to be near neutral. This prediction was tested by microfluorescence ratio imaging using macrophages from mice susceptible to mycobacterial infection. Although less acidic than their counterparts containing dead bacteria, phagosomes containing live Mycobacteria bovis were nearly 1 pH unit more acidic than the cytosol, suggesting the existence of alternate H+ transport mechanisms. We therefore investigated whether Na+/H+ exchange (NHE) contributes to phagosomal acidification. Immunoblotting, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and pharmacological studies indicated that NHE1 is the predominant isoform of the exchanger in macrophages. Fractionation revealed that NHE1 is incorporated into the phagosomal membrane, and measurements of pH indicated that it is functional in this location. Nevertheless, acidification of the lumen of phagosomes containing either latex beads or live M. bovis was insensitive to (3-methylsulfonyl-4-piperidinobenzoyl)-guanidine methanesulfonate, a potent inhibitor of NHE1. This may have been due to the absence of an appropriate lumen to cytosol Na+ gradient, because the phagosomal membrane was found to be devoid of Na+/K+ pumps. Unexpectedly, the acidification of M. bovis phagosomes was fully reversed by specific inhibitors of the vacuolar H+-ATPase, suggesting that ATPases are present only transiently or in reduced quantities in the phagosomal membrane. Alternatively, acid equivalents accumulated in endosomes by V-ATPases may be delivered to the mycobacterial phagosome by carrier vesicles devoid of ATPases.

Oxidant stress inhibits pH regulatory mechanisms in murine peritoneal macrophages.

BACKGROUND: Maintenance of cytoplasmic pH (pHi) close to the physiologic range is vital to normal cellular homeostasis. We have previously reported that a vacuolar-type H(+)-adenosine triphosphatase (V-ATPase) situated in the plasma membrane of macrophages and poised to extrude protons from the cytoplasmic to the extracellular space is an important pHi regulatory mechanism. Since the inflammatory microenvironment is frequently characterized by the influx of cells known to release reactive oxygen metabolites, we performed studies to examine the effect of oxidant stress on pHi regulation in peritoneal macrophages. Specifically, the effect of hydrogen peroxide on V-ATPase-mediated proton extrusion from acid-loaded macrophages was investigated. METHODS: Thioglycollate-elicited murine peritoneal macrophages were exposed to varying concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and examined for their ability to recover from an acid-load. pHi was studied by preloading cells with the pH-sensitive fluorescent dye, bis-carboxyethyl-carboxyfluorescein, and monitoring changes in fluorescence under various conditions using a fluorescence spectrometer. RESULTS: Hydrogen peroxide caused a time- and dose-dependent decrease in proton pump-mediated pHi recovery in peritoneal macrophages. This effect occurred without cytotoxicity and was a specific effect as evidenced by the ability of catalase to reverse the inhibition. Since hydrogen peroxide is known to deplete intracellular ATP, a substrate for V-ATPase activity, we hypothesized that ATP depletion may underlie the effect. These studies showed that hydrogen peroxide-mediated ATP depletion was both necessary and sufficient for the effect. Finally, depletion of intracellular glutathione in vivo by using diethyl maleate increased the sensitivity of V-ATPase activity to oxidant stress. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidant stress within the inflammatory milieu impairs macrophage pHi regulation. This effect is magnified by depletion of intracellular antioxidants, as occurs during sepsis. This represents another mechanism whereby oxidants may contribute to cellular dysfunction associated with inflammatory states.