Expression of ERα, its ERαΔ3 splice variant and γ-SYNUCLEIN in ovarian cancer: a pilot study.

Aims: Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality of any gynaecological malignancy; this is due to rapid peritoneal spread of tumour cells and neovascularization. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this is critical to developing early diagnostic or treatment strategies. We devised a pilot study to examine the role of γ-SYNUCLEIN (γ-SYN ), oestrogen receptor (ER )α, and the splice variant ER α∆3. Methodology: With ethical approval, ovarian tissue was collected from patients ( n=24) undergoing oopherectomy for non-ovarian pathology or primary surgery for suspected ovarian cancer. Quantitative gene expression analysis was employed for γ-SYN , ER α, and ER α∆3. To identify the in situ localization, immunofluorescence for γ-syn was carried out. Results: Ovarian tumour tissue exhibited an elevated expression of γ-SYN and high-grade tumours had an elevated ER α∆3:ER α ratio compared with benign tissue. The majority of previous studies point to the γ-syn protein being present in epithelial cells of high-grade disease. Our study supports this, but additionally we conclusively identify its presence in the endothelial cells of vasculature surrounding low-grade disease; immunofluorescence was strongest in the apical cells surrounding the lumen. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate for the first time that there are readily-expressed