Cancer/testis antigen SPATA19 is frequently expressed in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer

APMIS. 2017 Dec;125(12):1092-1101. doi: 10.1111/apm.12775. Epub 2017 Oct 3.

Abstract

Spermatogenesis-associated 19 (SPATA19) is a cancer/testis antigen overexpressed in various cancers. However, its protein expression profile in malignant or non-malignant tissues remains unknown. Thus, in this study, we investigated SPATA19 protein expression patterns in a panel of non-malignant human samples and primary prostate cancer (PCa) with or without benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissues. SPATA19 was absent in all non-malignant tissues investigated (n=14) except testis and prostate tissues. In terms of malignancies, all PCa cases were positive for SPATA19 exhibiting frequency between 20 and 100% (median 85%) with 63 (52.5%) and 57 (47.5%) cases demonstrating weak/moderate and strong intensities, respectively. Thirty-nine PCa cases (32.5%) contained BPH, and all BPH glands were SPATA19 positive (frequency between 20 and 100%; median 90%) with 13 (33.3%) demonstrating strong SPATA19 expression. Higher SPATA19 expression (higher frequency, intensity, or H-score) was not associated with overall survival or disease-specific survival (DFS) in all PCa cases. However, biochemical recurrence (BR) was associated with worse DFS (p = 0.005) in this cohort of 120 patients, and cases with strong SPATA19 intensity were associated with BR (p = 0.020). In conclusion, we showed that SPATA19 protein was frequently expressed in both BPH and PCa glands, and this warrants future investigations on its pathogenic roles in the disease.

Keywords: Prostate cancer; SPATA19; benign prostatic hyperplasia; cancer/testis antigen; survival.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Antigens, Neoplasm / metabolism*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / immunology*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mitochondrial Proteins / immunology*
  • Mitochondrial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Prognosis
  • Prostatic Hyperplasia / immunology*
  • Prostatic Hyperplasia / metabolism
  • Prostatic Hyperplasia / pathology
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / immunology*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Protein Array Analysis
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins / immunology*
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins / metabolism*
  • Testis / immunology
  • Testis / metabolism

Substances

  • Antigens, Neoplasm
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Mitochondrial Proteins
  • SPATA19 protein, human
  • Seminal Plasma Proteins