p53 protein detection by the Western blotting technique in normal and neoplastic specimens of human endometrium

The aim of the study was to investigate p53 protein expression by the Weste rn blotting technique (estimated by integrated optical density - IOD) in no rmal (n = 13) and neoplastic (n = 40) human endometrial tissues as well as in a case of uterine carcinosarcoma and in a specimen of the botryoid sarco ma of the uterine cervix. p53 protein levels were correlated with patients' age as well as with conventionally used clinicopathological features of th e endometrial neoplasm. A statistically significant difference was noted in p53 levels in the nuclear, but not in the cytoplasmatic, fraction between the normal endometria and endometrial cancer tissues (P < 0.0001). In the n eoplastic endometria, nuclear p53 protein expression was higher than in cyt oplasmatic fraction, and the difference was significant (P < 0.05). Higher nuclear p53 protein levels correlated with advanced histological grading of endometrioid endometrial carcinomas, but no relationship was noted between p53 protein expression and patients' age, clinical stage, histological typ e or depth of myometrial invasion. A case of uterine carcinosarcoma and a s pecimen of a botryoid sarcoma of the uterine cervix expressed nuclear p53 o ncoprotein (57 IOD and 89 IOD, respectively). In conclusion, we found a sta tistically higher nuclear p53 levels in malignant as compared to normal hum an endometrial specimens by the Western blotting technique. Although there were no significant differences between p53 expression and clinicopathologi cal features of the neoplasm (except poor histological grading), further st udies are necessary to evaluate the influence of p53 nuclear/cytoplasmatic levels on the clinical outcome of Polish patients suffering from endometria l cancer. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.