Relationship Of Cathepsin D And P53 Protein With The Invasion Of Human Pituitary Adenomas

Objective To detect the expression of cathepsin D and p53 protein in pituitary adenoma tissues and to investigate the correlation between cathepsin D and p53 protein and its relationship with the invasiveness of pituitary adenomas.Materials and Methods (1) 45 surgically resected pituitary adenoma samples, including 21 invasive pituitary adenomas and 24 non-invasive pituitary adenomas. All of the tissues were fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin. (2)Immunostaining technique was used to detect the expression of cathepsin D and p53 protein in all of the tissues. (3)Using different statistical methods, we analysisâ‘ relationships between the expression of cathepsin D and p53 protein in invasive and non-invasive pituitary adenomas respectively;â‘¡correlation between the expression of cathepsin D and p53 protein in invasive pituitary adenomas;â‘¢correlation between the expression of p53 protein in the two sub-groups (long and short duration) of invasive pituitary adenomas.Result:(1) The positive expression rate of cathepsin D in invasive pituitary adenomas and non-invasive pituitary adenomas is 76.19%,37.50%respectively. There is significant difference between the two groups(p=0.0092). The positive expression rate of p53 protein in invasive pituitary adenomas and non-invasive pituitary adenomas is 52.38%,16.67%respectively. There is significant difference between the two groups(p=0.0112). (2) There is no significant difference between cathepsin D expression and p53 protein expression in the invasive pituitary adenomas. (3)In the invasive pituitary adenomas, the positive expression rate of p53 protein in short-term duration (within 2 years) and long-term duration (more than 2 years) is 3 in 11 and 8 in 10 respectively. The 3 cases of relapse were all positive. There is significant difference between the two sub-groups(p=0.0300). Conclusion:(1)Compared with the non-invasive pituitary adenomas, cathepsin D and p53 protein were found high expressed in invasive pituitary adenomas. The invasion of pituitary adenomas is correlated with the expression level of cathepsin D and p53 protein. (2) Cathepsin D expression is not related to p53 protein expression in the invasiveness of pituitary adenomas. (3)Compared with the short-term duration cases, p53 protein were found high expressed in long-term duration cases in the invasive pituitary adenomas.It is suggested that over expression of cathepsin D and p53 protein are closely correlated with the invasiveness of pituitary adenomas, and may play an important role in the process. Cathepsin D and p53 should be useful markers in the diagnosis and treatment of invasive pituitary adenomas.