PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gong, J
AU  - Chen, N
AU  - Zhou, Q
AU  - Yang, B
AU  - Wang, Y
AU  - Wang, X
TI  - Melanoma inhibitor of apoptosis protein is expressed differentially in melanoma and melanocytic naevus, but similarly in primary and metastatic melanomas
AID  - 10.1136/jcp.2005.025817
DP  - 2005 Oct 01
TA  - Journal of Clinical Pathology
PG  - 1081--1085
VI  - 58
IP  - 10
4099  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/58/10/1081.short
4100  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/58/10/1081.full
SO  - J Clin Pathol2005 Oct 01; 58
AB  - Background: Malignant melanoma is highly resistant to current treatments. The inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family member, melanoma IAP (ML-IAP), is overexpressed in some melanoma cell lines, rendering them resistant to apoptotic signals. Targeting ML-IAP is a promising approach to treating melanoma. However, the status of ML-IAP expression in human melanoma tissues and the difference in expression between melanoma and melanocytic naevus are not known. Aims: To investigate these issues. Methods: ML-IAP expression in 48 archived patient samples (34 melanomas and 14 dermal naevi) was assessed by immunohistochemistry and by in situ hybridisation and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays developed for the study. Results: Expression of ML-IAP was detected in 47.6–70.6% (10 of 21 to 24 of 34) of the melanomas, varying with detection methods. The expression rate in melanoma was much higher than that in melanocytic naevus (10.0–21.4%; one of 10 to three of 14). No significant difference was seen between primary and secondary melanomas. ML-IAP expression rates assessed by the three methods were in agreement. Conclusions: The ML-IAP expression rate in archived melanoma tissues is around 50–70%, with no difference between primary and secondary melanomas. A small number of dermal naevi (∼ 20%) also expressed ML-IAP.