Expressions of transmembrane protease serine 2-E26 transformation specific fusion gene and its related proteins in prostate cancer and their significances

Abstract

Objective To study the expressions of transmembrane protease serine 2-E26 transformation specific (TMPRSS2-ETS) fusion gene and ETS related gene (ERG), ETS variant 1 (ETV1), phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), androgen receptor (AR) in prostate cancer. Methods A total of 50 cases of prostate cancer paraffin specimens and 30 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia as the controls in the same period from the Third People's Hospital of Datong between December 2016 and October 2017 were collected. TMPRSS2-ERG, TMPRSS2-ETV1 and TMPRSS2-ETV4 gene fusion status were detected by using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of ERG, ETV1, PTEN and AR protein. Results In prostate cancer tissues, TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene positive rate was 70% (35/50), and TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene was not detected in benign prostatic hyperplasia. The expression of TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene in prostate cancer patients with different age, serum prostate specific antigen level and whether distant metastasis had no statistically significant differences (all P > 0.05). The expression of TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene in Gleason score > 7 patients was higher than that in Gleason score≤7 patients (P 0.05). The expressions of TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene and ERG in prostate cancer were positively correlated (r=0.302, P 0.05). Conclusions The expressions of TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene and ERG, ETV1 protein are upregulated in prostate cancer, which may involve in the occurrence and development of prostate cancer. The detection of TMPRSS2-ETS fusion genes and ERG protein can provide a reference for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Key words: Prostatic neoplasms; Transmembrane protease serine 2; E26 transformation specific; Gene fusion; Fluorescence in situ hybridization