gp78 is specifically expressed in human prostate cancer rather than normal prostate tissue

Elevated expression of gp78 has been observed in many types of cancers including lung, stomach, colon, liver and skin cancer. But there is no report about its expression in prostate cancers. In this study, using immunohistochemical staining we found gp78 is highly expressed in prostate cancers especially early stage tumors, but not in normal prostate tissues. gp78 protein expression is heterogeneous. In some tumors it was expressed in basal cells, while others in stromal cells. For gp78 is a ubiquitin E3 ligase, we then investigated the expression pattern of its cognate E2 (ubiquitin conjugating enzyme)-Ube2g2 in prostate cancers. We found it was expressed in both cancerous and normal tissues of prostate without significant differences in expression level. And unlike gp78, it exhibited a homogeneous expression pattern in different cell types in prostate tissues. In conclusion, our results indicate that gp78 is expressed specifically in human prostate cancer rather than normal prostate tissues, it could be a putative biomarker for prostate cancer diagnosis.