Expression and signifcance of CD44s and CD44_(v5) in pituitary adenoma

Objective To study the expression of CD44 in pituitary adenoma and the relation with invasiveness of pituitary adenoma.Methods Expression of CD44s and CD44_(v5) were detected in samples of pituitary adenoma(20 invasive and 18 non-invasive pituitary adenoma), using S-P immunohistochemical staining method.Results The positive staining rates of CD44s 、 CD44_(v5) were 75%、35% respectively in 20 invasive pituitary adenomas, while the positive staining rates were 27.8%、22.2% respectively in 18 non-invasive pituitary adenomas. The positive staining rates of CD44s was significantly higher in invasive pituitary adenoma than in non-invasive pituitary adenoma (P0.01). Low levels of CD44_(v5) expression were observed in both invasive and non-invasive pituitary tumor and no significant difference. Conclusion The results suggest that high expression of CD44s in invasive pituitary adenoma is correlated with pituitary adenoma invasiveness,CD44s may play an important role in invasive pituitary adenoma. Low expression of CD44_(v5) in pituitary adenoma shows no relationship with invasiveness of pituitary adenoma.