Table of Contents
Definition / general | Terminology | Diagrams / tables | Clinical features | Uses by pathologists | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive staining - normal | Positive staining - disease | Negative stainingCite this page: PTEN. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/stainspten.html. Accessed July 12th, 2017.
Definition / general
- See also topic in Molecular Pathology chapter
- Phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome TEN (at 10q23)
- PTEN gene encodes a 403 amino acid cytosolic lipid phosphatase that negatively regulates AKT activity by dephosphorylating phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3)
- There is a secreted form of PTEN referred to as PTEN-Long or PTEN-L; PTEN-L includes an extra 173 amino acids at the N terminal of PTEN; PTEN-L secreted from one cell can exhibit phosphatase activity in neighboring cells (Science 2013;341:399)
- PTENα is an isoform of PTEN that also contains a 173 amino acid N terminal extension; it is localized to the mitochondria (Cell Metab 2014;19:836)
- Tumor suppressor gene that is commonly lost in human cancer
- Has important role in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis
- Heavily regulated by post-translational modifications, including:
- Oxidation or nitrosylation (C71, C124, C83)
- Ubiquitination (K13 and K289)
- SUMOlyation (K254, K266)
- Acetylation (K125, K128, K163, K402)
Terminology
- Also called Mutated in Multiple Advanced Cancers 1 (MMAC1)
Diagrams / tables
Clinical features
- PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) is a spectrum of human pathologies that result from mutations in PTEN (Am J Surg Pathol 2012;36:671); they include Cowden syndrome, Bannayan-Riley-Rubvalcaba syndrome, Proteus syndrome and Proteus-like syndrome
- Inherited PTEN mutations are also associated with:
- Lhermitte Duclos syndrome (cerebellum dysplastic hamartoma, Ann Neurol 1991;29:517)
- Juvenile polyposis of infancy (Nat Genet 1998;18:12)
- Segmental overgrowth (Eur J Hum Genet 2007;15:767)
- Autism with macrocephaly (J Med Genet 2005;42:318)
- Mutations are associated with resistance to anti-androgen therapy
- Also Cowden syndrome, carcinomas of bladder, breast, endometrium (Mod Pathol 2012;25:1508), esophagus (Hum Pathol 2013;44:829), head and neck (squamous cell carcinoma), kidney (Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:1549), lung, prostate (Mod Pathol 2013;26:835), stomach and thyroid; glioblastoma, melanoma
- Reduced PTEN expression predicts relapse in breast carcinoma patients treated with tamoxifen (Mod Pathol 2005;18:250)
- Gross rearrangements of PTEN locus occur in prostate cancer and can be detected by a 'break-apart' FISH assay (Mod Pathol 2012;25:902)
Uses by pathologists
- Loss of nuclear PTEN expression in adenomatous thyroid nodules is sensitive and specific for Cowden syndrome (Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:1505)
- Loss of cytoplasmic PTEN may distinguish intraductal prostatic carcinoma from high grade PIN (Mod Pathol 2013;26:587)
Microscopic (histologic) images
Positive staining - normal
- Found in almost all body tissue
Positive staining - disease
- Various carcinomas
Negative staining
- Frequent loss of expression in carcinoma








