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Role of translocator protein in melanoma growth and progression

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Abstract

The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is a primarily mitochondrial protein that participates in steroid biosynthesis, cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and the regulation of mitochondrial function in general. TSPO has been implicated in carcinogenesis via its ability to transport cholesterol into mitochondria to meet the increased energy needs of tumor cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate TSPO involvement in melanoma pathogenesis. TSPO expression in melanoma and melanocytic nevi was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR, and TSPO levels were correlated to the invasiveness of the tumor. The number of TSPO-positive melanoma samples increased with tumor progression irrespective of age or gender of patients. Similar findings were obtained while examining TSPO expression levels in relation to the Clark invasion stage of the tumor. Indeed, the immunohistochemical index was elevated in invasive tumors characterized as Clark level V compared to those characterized as levels I and II. Besides, the elevation of immunohistochemical index was accompanied with a shift of homogeneous cytoplasmic subcellular expression pattern of the protein to nuclear and perinuclear. Taken together, these results suggest TSPO participation in melanoma growth and progression.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from Boehringer Ingelheim Funds for Biomedical Research (to T.R.) and National Institutes of Health, USA, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (to V.P.).

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathophysiology, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University, Krasnoyarsk, 660022, Russia

    Tatiana Ruksha & Maria Aksenenko

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20057, USA

    Tatiana Ruksha & Vassilios Papadopoulos

  3. The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center and Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, 1650 Cedar Avenue, C10-148, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada

    Vassilios Papadopoulos

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  1. Tatiana Ruksha
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  2. Maria Aksenenko
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Correspondence to Tatiana Ruksha.

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Ruksha, T., Aksenenko, M. & Papadopoulos, V. Role of translocator protein in melanoma growth and progression. Arch Dermatol Res 304, 839–845 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-012-1294-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-012-1294-5

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