肿瘤睾丸抗原PRAMEF12在肾细胞癌的表达研究

The expression of cancer-testis antigen PRAMEF12 in renal cell carcinoma

目的肿瘤睾丸抗原(cancer-testis antigens,CTAs)可限制性表达于睾丸生殖细胞及肿瘤细胞,并具有高免疫原性等特点,可激发肿瘤患者机体免疫应答,被认为是抗原特异性免疫治疗的潜在靶点。本实验分析和鉴定黑色素瘤优先表达抗原家族成员12(preferentially expressed antigen ofmelanoma family member 12,PRAMEF12)是否为一个新的肿瘤睾丸抗原,并探究其在肾癌组织中的表达。方法采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)分析PRAMEF12 mRNA在成人多器官正常组织及肾癌组织中的表达特点。蛋白印迹法(Western Blot)及免疫组织化学分析PRAMEF12蛋白在肾癌组织中的表达特点。运用统计学方法分析PRAMEF12蛋白的表达量和病例临床特点之间的关系。结果PRAMEF12显著表达于正常成人睾丸组织及肾癌组织中,但在其他正常组织中未见表达。PRAMEF12在70例肾癌组织中阳性表达率为60%(42/70),并与患者的年龄、性别及病理分期之间无显著统计学意义(P=0.758,P=0.837,P=0.457)。结论 PRAMEF12是一个新的肿瘤睾丸抗原,异常表达于部分肾癌患者,可能促进肾癌的发生与发展。

Objective Cancer testis antigens are considered as promising candidate targets for immunotherapy due to their high expression in various malignancies but no in somatic tissues except testes. Here, we investigated if PRAMEF12 could be as a novel CT antigen, and explored its expression in renal carcinoma tissue. Methods We first used RT-PCR to determine the expression levels of PRAMEF12 in multiple normal tissues and renal carcinoma tissues, then use western blot and immunohistochemistry to confirm the PRAMEF12 protein expression in renal carcinoma tissues. Results PRAMEF12 was specifically expressed in testis tissue and renal carcinoma tissues. PRAMEF12 mRNA expression was detected in 66.7%of renal cell carcinoma, whereas PRAMEF12 protein expression in 60%of renal cell carcinoma. No significant correlations were found between PRAMEF12 protein expression and age, gender or clinical stage （P=0.758, P=0.837, P=0.457）. Conclusion Collectively, our data suggests that PRAMEF12 is a novel cancer testis antigen which may be a potential target for the immunotherapy of renal cell carcinoma.