TY - JOUR
T1 - Overexpression of cathepsin D in malignant melanoma.
AU - Zhu, L.
AU - Wada, Maiko
AU - Usagawa, Yuko
AU - Yasukochi, Yumi
AU - Yokoyama, Asuka
AU - Wada, Naoko
AU - Sakamoto, Maiko
AU - Maekawa, Tomoko
AU - Miyazaki, Reiko
AU - Yonenaga, Etsuko
AU - Kiyomatsu, Mari
AU - Murata, Maho
AU - Furue, Masutaka
N1 - Copyright:
This record is sourced from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - Cathepsin D is an aspartic lysosomal endopeptidase present in most mammalian cells. Overexpression of cathepsin D is associated with the progression of several human cancers including melanoma. We examined the expression levels of cathepsin D in 20 primary malignant melanomas, 20 metastatic malignant melanomas, 20 benign nevus pigmentosus and 10 normal skin samples in Japanese. In normal skin, granular or dotted pattern of positive staining was observed along the granular layer of epidermis and hair follicle with apparent moderate to strong staining in sebaceous and eccrine glands. The percent positivity and staining intensity of cathepsin D in primary and metastatic malignant melanomas were significantly higher than that of nevus pigmentosus. Moreover, the expression levels of cathepsin D in metastatic malignant melanomas were significantly higher than those of primary malignant melanomas. Data from our and previous reports strongly supports a notion that the upregulation of cathepsin D may be critically involved in the malignant transformation and progression of melanocytic tumors.
AB - Cathepsin D is an aspartic lysosomal endopeptidase present in most mammalian cells. Overexpression of cathepsin D is associated with the progression of several human cancers including melanoma. We examined the expression levels of cathepsin D in 20 primary malignant melanomas, 20 metastatic malignant melanomas, 20 benign nevus pigmentosus and 10 normal skin samples in Japanese. In normal skin, granular or dotted pattern of positive staining was observed along the granular layer of epidermis and hair follicle with apparent moderate to strong staining in sebaceous and eccrine glands. The percent positivity and staining intensity of cathepsin D in primary and metastatic malignant melanomas were significantly higher than that of nevus pigmentosus. Moreover, the expression levels of cathepsin D in metastatic malignant melanomas were significantly higher than those of primary malignant melanomas. Data from our and previous reports strongly supports a notion that the upregulation of cathepsin D may be critically involved in the malignant transformation and progression of melanocytic tumors.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 24511668
AN - SCOPUS:84897569671
VL - 104
SP - 370
EP - 375
JO - Quaternary International
JF - Quaternary International
SN - 1040-6182
IS - 10
ER -