Quantitative analysis of macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1) gene expression in human prostatic tissues

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Abstract
Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1) gene is a member of transforming growth factor-β superfamily and was reported to be highly overexpressed in human prostate cancer using microarray technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quantitative expression of MIC-1 in malignant and benign prostate tissues and to associate expression levels with clinicopathological parameters of prostate cancer. Matched (paired) prostatic tissue samples from the cancerous and noncancerous parts of the same prostates were obtained from 66 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy. Quantitative RT–PCR was performed using SYBR Green I on the Roche LightCyclerTM system. Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 gene overexpression in cancerous tissues was observed in 88% of cases, compared to noncancerous tissues (PP5). This is in contrast to prostate-specific antigen that is downregulated in higher-grade tumours. The upregulation of MIC-1 in prostate cancer and in advanced and more aggressive prostatic tumours suggests that MIC-1 protein should be evaluated as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.