EXPRESSION OF HSP 90, PTEN AND BCL-2 IN CONJUNCTIVAL MELANOMA.

Henrike Westekemper (1) , Sara Karimi (1) , Daniela Süsskind (2) , Gerasimos Anastassiou (1) , Michael Freistühler (1) , Klaus-Peter Steuhl (1) , Norbert Bornfeld (1) , Kurt-Werner Schmid (3) , Florian Grabellus (3)

1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen
2 Department of Ophthalmology, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Schleichstr. 12-16, 72076 Tübinge
3 Institute of Pathology and Neuropathology, University of Duisburg-Essen

Background: In conjunctival melanoma little is known about the tumour biology and protein-expression patterns. In this study we analysed the expression of the antiapoptotic oncoprotein Bcl-2, the tumour-suppressor PTEN, and the heat-shock-protein HSP-90 in conjunctival melanoma (CoM) and conjunctival nevi (CoN) by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Material and Methods: IHC was performed on 70 samples of CoM and 12 samples of CoN. Expression-patterns between the diagnosis-groups were compared. ROC-analysis was performed to reveal diagnostic value of the antigens. Results: HSP-90 (p=<0.0001) and PTEN (p=0.001) showed potential to differentiate between CoM and CoN. Bcl-2 expression was higher in CoM than in CoN (p=0.04) . The loss of nuclear PTEN expression was more pronounced in the malignant melanomas than in CoN (p=0.02). Tumours located at unfavourable sites (fornix, palpebral conjunctiva, caruncle) that had developed recurrences expressed almost twice as much HSP-90 than recurrence-free tumours. Conclusions: Conjunctival melanocytes differentially express Bcl-2, HSP-90 and PTEN depending on their entity. HSP-90- and PTEN-expression may add relevant information for the differentiation between conjunctival melanoma and nevi.

Mots clés: Ocular surface; Conjunctiva; Pathology; Neoplasia

Henrike Westekemper, Sara Karimi, Daniela Süsskind, Gerasimos Anastassiou, Michael Freistühler, et al.. EXPRESSION OF HSP 90, PTEN AND BCL-2 IN CONJUNCTIVAL MELANOMA.. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2010, 95 (6), pp.853. ⟨10.1136/bjo.2010.183939⟩. ⟨hal-00595933⟩