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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Data All Versions of this Article: EJE-09-0596v1 161/6/939    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Shigematsu, K. Articles by Kawai, K. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shigematsu, K. Articles by Kawai, K.

Synaptophysin immunoreactivity in adrenocortical adenomas: a correlation between synaptophysin and CYP17A1 expression

Department of Pathology, Japanese Red-Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, Nagasaki 852-8511, Japan¹ Divisions of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology² Nephro-Urology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan³ Department of Pathology, Nagasaki Prefecture Medical Health Operation Group, Isahaya 859-0401, Japan

(Correspondence should be addressed to K Shigematsu; Email: shigek{at}nagasaki-med.jrc.or.jp)

Design and methods: The adrenal cortex is not considered to be an intrinsic part of the diffuse neuroendocrine system, but adrenocortical neoplasms possess neuroendocrine properties. In this study, we examined synaptophysin (SYP) and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression in adrenocortical adenomas in relation to adrenal function.

Results: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that 50.7 and 98.6% of the cortical adenomas showed SYP and NCAM immunoreactivities respectively. There was no apparent difference in NCAM immunoreactivity among the adenomas. However, the immunostaining for SYP was significantly stronger in cortisol-producing adenomas (CPA) than in aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA), nonfunctioning adenomas (NFA), showing no clinical or endocrinological abnormality, or adenomas associated with preclinical Cushing's syndrome (preCS). Western blotting and real-time PCR demonstrated that the expression level of SYP protein and mRNA was significantly higher in CPA than in APA or NFA. Additionally, the SYP mRNA level showed a positive correlation with CYP17A1 mRNA. In addition to the plasma membrane, mitochondria, and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, SYP immunoreactivity was detected in the Golgi area, which is known to be involved in the regulation of mitochondrial cholesterol and the transport of steroid intermediates. It was unexpected that the ratio of positive cells for SYP in preCS was less than that in APA and NFA. However, further examination is required, because the number of preCS cases we investigated was very small.

Conclusions: We propose that SYP expression in adrenocortical cells may be involved in some aspect of adrenal function such as transport or secretion of glucocorticoids.