Advance Publication AHCcta Histochemica et Cytochemica0044-599113 7 800Jap n Society of His ochemistry and CytochemistryTokyo, Japan?????.1267 / hc.??.???Regular Article Immunohistochemical Demonstration of Membrane-bound Prostaglandin E2 Synthase-1 in Pa

the conversion of prostaglandin (PG) H2 to PGE2 in downstream of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Recent studies have obtained in vitro evidence that PGE2 participates in carcinogenesis, angiogenesis, and induction of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which plays a crucial role in cancer invasion. However, implications for mPGES-1 in thyroid carcinomas remain to be determined. To address this issue, we performed an immunohistochemical analysis for mPGES-1, COX-2 and MMP-9 in 20 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. mPGES-1 immunoreactivity was localized in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells in 19 cases, with an in-tensity that tended to be distinct at the interface between the tumor and the surrounding non-neoplastic tissue. Staining was more intense in regions with papillary arrangement, while it was less intense in regions with trabecular or solid arrangement. In many cases, immuno-histochemical localization of COX-2 and MMP-9 resemble that of mPGES-1. Taken together, our results suggest the involvement of mPGES-1 in proliferation and differentiation of PTC as well as local invasion of PTC. Key words: cyclooxygenase-2, immunohistochemistry, matrix metalloproteinase, papillary thyroid carcinoma, prostaglandin E synthas