The American journal of pathology
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An antibody, GC-17, thoroughly characterized for its specificity for estrogen receptor-beta (ER-beta), was used to immunolocalize the receptor in histologically normal prostate, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, primary carcinomas, and in metastases to lymph nodes and bone. Comparisons were made between ER-beta, estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha), and androgen receptor (AR) immunostaining in these tissues. Concurrently, transcript expression of the three steroid hormone receptors was studied by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis on laser capture-microdissected samples of normal prostatic acini, dysplasias, and carcinomas. ⋯ In contrast, ER-alpha-stained cells were absent in bone metastases and rare in lymph nodes metastases. Irrespective of the site, AR-positive cells were found in all metastases. Based on our recent finding of anti-estrogen/ER-beta-mediated growth inhibition of prostate cancer cells in vitro, the presence of ER-beta in metastatic cells may have important implications for the treatment of late-stage disease.