波形蛋白、细胞角蛋白5，18，19在人胚胎前列腺发育不同阶段的表达及意义

Objective To study and evaluate the changing staining pattern of Vimentin, Cytokeratin (CK) 5, 18, 19 in the fetal human prostate with various gestation stages. Methods 5 fetal human prostate specimens with different developmental stages (2 month, 3 month, 5 month, 6 month, and 8 month respectively) and 1 normal adult human prostate specimen were included in this study. Using immunohistochemistry technique, all the specimens were stained with anti-human Vimentin, CK5, CK18 and CK19 antibodies. All the slides were observed under light microscope. Results Vimentin was expressed in fetal human prostate epithelium, and its expression was gradually increased and latter decreased as the fetus grew. The CK5 and CK18 positive epithelial cells were unorderly distributed within the whole budding tips or the acini firstly. As the fetus grew, they were localized within the basal cell compartment and luminal cell compartment respectively. The CK19 positive cells were uniformly distributed within all the basally and luminally located cells, and this staining pattern was not altered as the fetus grew. Conclusion The presence of Vimentin in the fetal human prostate could elevate the motility of the epithelial cells, and prompt the morphogenesis of the primary gland. The dynamic distributions of the CK5, CK18, CK19 positive cells within the budding tips, the acini, and the branching ducts could be possibly associated with the differentiation of fetal prostate epithelium.