S-100 protein and 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphohydrolase in human brain tumors

Summary

Biopsy specimens from 23 human brain tumors have been analyzed for the nervous system specific protein S-100 and the membrane-associated enzyme 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphohydrolase (CpNase). Biopsy specimens from an additional seven brain tumors were tested for either S-100 or CpNase alone.

All astrocytomas and glioblastomas tested were found to contain S-100 and CpNase although there does not appear to be a strong correlation between the levels of these two markers in the 14 such tumors assayed for both. S-100 levels varied over a 19-fold range while CpNase varied over a 835-fold range. Postoperative survival in the astrocytoma and glioblastoma patients showed only a weak correlation with either tumor CpNase or S-100 levels.

Two acoustic neurinomas, two oligodendrogliomas, one mixed glioma, and one choroid plexus papilloma were also assayed and found to have detectable levels of both S-100 and CpNase with the acoustic neurinomas and the mixed glioma having relatively high levels of each marker. All six meningiomas tested had low levels of CpNase. S-100 assays in three benign meningiomas were negative, while low levels of this protein were found in the one malignant meningioma tested.

Tissue cultures were grown out from biopsy specimens of additional human brain tumors and tested at confluency for S-100. Of 15 astrocytoma and glioblastoma cultures tested, three had easily detectable amounts of S-100, two appeared to contain trace levels and ten were negative. The two acoustic neurinoma cultures tested were positive for S-100 while all three oligodendroglioma cultures were negative.