Tu141 - Correlation of GPER with GLI1 and GLI3 in Tumor and Stromal Tissue with Different Prognosis Groups of Patients with Prostate Cancer

Abstract Text: Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin malignancy in men and second-leading cancer-related disease worldwide. Gleason scoring assigns a score from two different locations of the sample specifying the degree of malignancy. GPER may drive cancer progression via pathway signaling activation; among these is Hedgehog, implicated in cell differentiation and growth control with the participation of GLI factors, whose aberrant expression and activation contribute to cancer by enhancing survival, stemness, metastatic potential, stimulation of stroma, and blood vessel formation. GLI1 is considered an activator, while GLI3 has dual activity. Nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of GPER is important because it can interact with molecules involved in carcinogenesis. Their correlation with GPER-GLI has not been evaluated in different Gleason degrees in prostate tissues.

Aim: Evaluate the correlation of nuclear and cytoplasmic GPER, GLI1, and GLI3 protein expression in tumoral and stromal tissues in prostate cancer having different Gleason scores.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry assays were performed for GPER, GLI1, and GLI3 (total and phosphorylated) in tumoral/stromal prostate cancer samples with different Gleason scores.

Results: GPER is mainly expressed in the nucleus and enhanced as the Gleason score increases.  GLI1/GLI1p are expressed in cytoplasm but this is not affected by the Gleason score. However, GLI3 reduces its nuclear expression in stromal tissue and GLI3p is expressed more as the Gleason score increases in tumoral and stromal tissue.

Conclusion: An inverse correlation is observed between GPER and GLI3 as the Gleason score increases in stromal tissue and positively correlates with pGLI3 in tumoral tissue.