Summary Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression was investigated in patients with prostatic adenocarcinoma and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Forty-one men were studied: 26 had histologically proven prostate cancer, with 14 (54%) showing metastatic disease; 15 patients had BPH. Prostatic tissue was obtained from transurethral resection and needle core biopsies; gelatinolytic activity was determined by zymography. Seven gelatinolytic bands were detected, with molecular weights ranging from > 100 kilodalton (kDa) to 29 kDa. Nine of 14 patients (64%) with skeletal metastases had 92 kDa activity, present in only two of 12 patients (17%) with a negative bone scan, and absent in BPH. The 92 kDa gelatinolytic activity was expressed in 73% of aneuploid tumours compared with 20% of diploid tumours. A 97 kDa gelatinase was expressed in 80% of BPH samples and 23% of carcinoma patients. Enzyme bands of 72, 66 and 45 kDa were equally expressed in malignant tissue, irrespective of metastatic status, but were expressed in fewer BPH patients. The 97, 92, 66 and 45 kDa enzymes were identified as being pro-MMP-9 sequences by Western blotting, using a specific antibody directed against the pro sequence of the mature protein. MMP activity appeared to be increased in malignant prostatic tissue compared with BPH. Pro-MMP-9, in its 92 kDa form, was shown to be exclusively expressed by malignant prostatic tissue, and in particular by tumours that exhibited the aggressive and metastatic phenotype.Prostate cancer is the third most common malignancy in men in England and Wales, with over 9,000 new cases registered every year (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, 1985).

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Sixty one duodenal biopsy specimens were examined for the expression of lactase at the level of enzyme activity, protein, and messenger RNA. Of the 51 samples with normal villous architecture, 39 were lactase persistent, 11 were nonpersistent (adult type hypolactasia), and one was of indeterminate status. All the lactase persistent individuals showed high mRNA and a high level of the lactase protein as detected by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All the 11 non-persistent individuals tested showed a low level of lactase protein.Nine of the 10 samples tested showed low mRNA and one high mRNA. These results suggest that the lactase persistence polymorphism is controlled at the level of the expression of the lactase gene, though there may be some heterogeneity of the lactase non-persistence phenotype. (Gut 1995; 36: 28-33)

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