Expression of the coxsackie adenovirus receptor in normal prostate and in primary and metastatic prostate carcinoma: potential relevance to gene therapy.

Adenovirus-based gene therapy may provide an alternative mode of treatment for prostate cancer, especially for late-stage and androgen-independent disease for which there is currently no effective treatment. Efficient adenovirus infection of target cells depends upon the presence of the coxsackie adenovirus cell surface receptor, CAR, which is the primary receptor for group C adenoviruses and is important for the attachment of adenovirus to the cell membrane. To evaluate the potential efficacy of adenoviral therapy for prostate cancer, we evaluated CAR expression in normal prostate tissue and in prostate carcinoma of increasing Gleason grades in paraffin-embedded, archival tissues using a polyclonal antibody raised against human CAR. Immunohistochemical analysis of benign prostate epithelia demonstrated intense luminal and lateral cell membrane staining. There was a statistically significant difference in CAR membrane expression with respect to Gleason score. In addition, metastatic prostate specimens demonstrated strong membrane staining for CAR. Adenovirus therapy may, therefore, provide an alternate modality in the treatment of prostate cancer and may be especially efficacious in the treatment of metastatic disease.