US EPA

1975945 

Journal Article 

Immunoreactivity of the salivary protein statherin in human male accessory sex glands 

Cossu, M; Isola, M; Solinas, P; De Lisa, A; Massa, D; Lantini, MS 

2011 

1 

Prostate
ISSN: 0270-4137
EISSN: 1097-0045 

71 

6 

671-674 

English 

20945405 

10.1002/pros.21290 

WOS:000288136200014 

BACKGROUND: Statherin is a small phosphoprotein chiefly studied for its protective roles towards teeth and oral tissues. Although generally considered as exclusively secreted by salivary glands, circumstantial evidences suggested that other tissues also produce it. This article first demonstrates statherin immunoreactivity in human prostate and seminal vesicles.

METHODS: Surgical samples of prostate and seminal vesicles were fixed in a mixture of paraformaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, and embedded in Epon resin without previous osmication. Ultrathin sections were treated for the intracellular localization of statherin by means of an immunogold staining method.

RESULTS: Reactive statherin was revealed in secreting cells of both seminal vesicle and prostate epithelia: labeling was found in secretory granules of seminal vesicle cells and in cytoplasmic vesicles of prostatic cells.

CONCLUSIONS: The different staining patterns suggested that the two glands secrete statherin through different pathways. Prostate 71:671-674, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. 

statherin; immunogold; sex glands