Abstract:

Objective To investigate the protein expressions of PTEN and p-Akt in Kaposi′s sarcoma （KS） tissue and their significance in the development of KS. Methods The EnVision two-step method was used to detect the expressions of PTEN and p-Akt proteins in tissue specimens from the lesions of 17 patients with KS and from the normal skin of 17 normal human controls. Results PTEN and P-Akt were mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of cells. No significant difference was observed in the positivity rate of PTEN ［76.5%（13/17） vs. 88.2%（15/17）, P > 0.10］ between the KS and control specimens. p-Akt was expressed in all （100%） of the 17 KS specimens, but in none of the control specimens. Conclusion The abnormal expression of PTEN protein may play a certain role in the development of KS.

Key words: Immunohistochemistry