K. Suzuki et al., DIFFERENTIAL IMAGE-ANALYSIS OF PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN (PCNA) EXPRESSION LEVEL DURING EXPERIMENTAL THYROID CARCINOGENESIS, Acta histochemica et cytochemica, 29(2), 1996, pp. 99-105
Immunostaining of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which can
be applied to routinely processed tissue sections, has extended the a
pplications of cell kinetic studies. PCNA immunostaining intensity of
cells varies among individual nuclei in tissue sections. To determine
the changes in PCNA expression level during carcinogenesis, we employe
d an image analyzer to evaluate PCNA staining intensity in diisopropan
olnitrosamine (DIPN)-induced neoplastic lesions of rat thyroid glands.
In the normal thyroid gland, only small numbers of cells showed weak
PCNA expression. The percentage of PCNA-positive cells increased durin
g carcinogenesis, i.e. hyperplasia, adenoma, and then carcinoma. Analy
sis of PCNA staining intensity histograms revealed that the population
of cells with stronger intensity increased during carcinogenesis, i.e
. from adenoma to carcinoma. However, the percentage of cells with wea
k PCNA staining increased in hyperplasia, and did not change in intens
ity during further carcinogenic sequelae. These differences in PCNA ex
pression level recognized by immunostaining intensity may reflect diff
erent cell kinetics between the process of hyperplasia and that of dif
ferentiation from adenoma to carcinoma.