Expression profile and significance of EZH2 gene in primary prostate cancer

    SONG Li, CUI Xiaoª²Jian, SU Daª²Jun, TAN Guoª²Liang

    Department of Urology, Public Security Hospital of Tianjin City, Tianjin 300045, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To determine the expression of EZH2 gene in prostate cancer (PCa) and to investigate the relation between EZH2 expression and biological characters of PCa. METHODS: In 40 cases of PCa, 20 cases of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), 20 cases of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), the expression of EZH2 was detected by semiª²quantitative RTª²PCR and the amplified product was sequenced. RESULTS: All 40 PCa cases were positive in EZH2 expression. There was no expression of EZH2 gene in BPH. Only one of the 20 PIN cases was seen EZH2 expressed positively. EZH2 expression was increased in the advanced compared with the primary PCa (P<0.05), in the lowª²differentiated compared with the highlyª²differentiated PCa (P<0.05) and in the hormoneª²dependent compared with the hormoneª²independent PCa (P<0.05). However, EZH2 expression did not have a linear correlation with the serum total prostate specific antigen level (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: EZH2 gene plays an important role in the development of prostaic carcinoma. Therefore, the analysis of EZH2 expression will benefit the diagnosis and treatment of prostatic carcinoma. ......