Abstract   

    The zinc-binding proteins regulate genes, which play an important role in cell differentiation and proliferation. Moreover, zinc is involved in DNA and RNA transcription and replication. Also, zinc was elevated and decreased in benign prostatic hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma of the prostate, respectively. The hypothesis that the behaviours of metastatic tumors of prostate might affect the nuclear zinc concentration was postulated, since zinc have been demonstrated in the nuclei of normal rat, and dog prostate gland. The X-ray microanalysis technique was used to detect and quantitate zinc in nuclei of metastatic tumor cells of porstatic adenocarcinoma R-33271-J cell line, in skin, liver and lung. S.C. implants, or 1.V. infusion of about 106 cells were used to establish metastatic tumors. It was found that zinc concentration in euchromatin and heterochromatin was higher in metastatic tumors of l.V. treated group. However, there was a variation in zinc concentration across the treatment and across the organs. From these results, it was suggested that the route of metastasis could affect nuclear sequestration of zinc. The euchromatin/heterochromatin zinc concentration ration and zinc concentration could be used as an estimated factor in diagnosis of prostatic tumor metastasis.    

Key words: X-ray micro-analysis, protein expression, proliferation, RNA, DNA, Zn.