Expression of annexin I, II and VII proteins in androgen stimulated and recurrent prostate cancer

Purpose: We performed a comprehensive survey of annexin I, II and VII protein expression in patient matched benign prostatic epithelium (BPE), androgen stimulated prostate cancer (AS-CaP) and recurrent prostate cancer (R-CaP). Materials and Methods: Annexin I, II and VII was immunostained in 23 matched pairs of BPE and AS-CaP specimens, and in 25 R-CaP specimens. Protein expression was assessed visually and using color digital video image analysis. Results: The expression levels of annexins I and II was decreased from BPE to AS-CaP in all patients examined using visual assessment (22 of 22) or digital image analysis (18 of 18 for annexin I and 22 of 22 for annexin II). Annexin I mean optical density (MOD) decreased by 69% (0.718 to 0.222, p <0.0001) and annexin II MOD decreased by 71% (0.820 to 0.238, p <0.0001). Annexin I MOD further decreased almost 50% in R-CaP compared with AS-CaP (0.117 vs 0.222, p <0.0065) and annexin II MOD further declined by 37% (AS-CaP 0.238 vs R-CaP 0.150, p <0.0001). Annexin VII MOD showed no significant change between BPE and AS-CaP (0.229 and 0.214, respectively) but it decreased 14% in R-CaP vs AS-CaP (0.184 vs 0.214, p <0.0051). Conclusions: Annexins I and II expression are decreased in AS-CaP compared with BPE and a further reduction is observed with progression from AS-CaP to R-CaP. Annexin VII protein expression is decreased in R-CaP, although AS-CaP and BPE are similar. This study suggests that the dysregulations of annexin proteins I, II and VII are important events in prostate carcinogenesis and progression.