Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Because so-called 'carcinoid' tumour of the breast has proven to be a difficult entity to define, we studied in-situ carcinoma as there were reasons to believe that this might help clarify the complex problems involved. We studied a consecutive series of 30 cases of ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) by light microscopy and silver impregnation methods and identified a relatively common endocrine variant of DCIS. This variant was studied by immunocytochemical and ultrastructural methods, using conventional DCIS as a control. Endocrine DCIS is identified by its organoid pattern, stromal 'inclusions', festooned structure and a distinctive type of polypoid invagination. It is argyrophilic and rich in neuron-specific enolase. Ultrastructurally it contains abundant dense core granules which are impregnated selectively by Grimelius' method. This tumour type frequently contains peptide hormones of the ACTH family. Three of seven cases contained cells reactive for ACTH and corticotropin-like intermediate lobe peptide CLIP or their precursor, pro-opiomelanocortin. A fourth tumour contained neurotensin, recently identified in a variety of endocrine tumours. Argyrophil invasive carcinomas are a much more heterogeneous group of tumours than argyrophil DCIS and only a minority have an endocrine structure comparable to that described here.
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PMID:A morphological and immunocytochemical study of a distinctive variant of ductal carcinoma in-situ of the breast. 1789 2

Cushing's syndrome secondary to ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion is rarely observed in breast carcinoma and only four cases have been previously published. We report here the case of a 50-year-old woman who presented with a history of diffuse bone pain associated with multiple hepatic, pulmonary, and bone metastases. A core needle biopsy specimen revealed an invasive ductal carcinoma in the right breast. The patient subsequently developed an ACTH-dependent paraneoplastic Cushing's syndrome and she died of arrhythmia and heart failure, despite treatment. At autopsy, immunohistochemical staining showed chromogranin A and ACTH positivity in the breast tumor and a lung metastasis. The mRNA expression of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene was detected in tumoral cells by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This is the first case of Cushing's syndrome secondary to ectopic ACTH secretion where the presence of ACTH by immunohistochemistry and the expression of the POMC gene by RT-PCR have both been demonstrated in a breast carcinoma with metastases. The clinical history and the pathologic findings are presented with the methods and results of the molecular analysis. This case illustrates an example of ectopic ACTH syndrome in a breast carcinoma with neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation. This NE phenotype is directly related to the synthesis of ACTH by the tumoral cells. It should be kept in mind that an ectopic ACTH syndrome may be produced not only by small cell carcinoma or endocrine tumors but also by breast cancer. No relationship has been established between NE features and prognostic factors or patient outcome for this peculiar type of breast carcinoma. The demonstration of mRNA POMC in breast carcinoma with NE features suggests a depression and/or an activation of the POMC gene linked to the NE differentiation.
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PMID:Pro-opiomelanocortin expression in a metastatic breast carcinoma with ectopic ACTH secretion. 1523 95