RESUMEN
Precancerous cervical lesions are metaplastic alterations of epithelial cells of the cervix, eventually developing into cervical cancer. Despite primary and secondary prevention, the burden of cervical cancer remains high globally. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMT) represent post-translational modifications that interact with multiple signalling pathways, playing a role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In complex with desmoglein-2 (DSG2), a cell adhesion protein, both participate in the progression of dysplastic changes with potential malignant development. The presented study was performed on archival paraffin-embedded blocks from adult women. The studied samples were categorised into low-grade and high-grade intraepithelial lesions. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to observe subcellular localisation, immunoreaction intensity, and percentage of PRMT5- and DSG2-expressing cells, followed by statistical analysis. Preliminary results identified statistically significant differences between the expression and subcellular localisation of proteins in question in low-grade and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. The primary goal of the presented study is to perceive the involvement of PRMT5 and DSG2 in the initiation and progression of cervical lesions. Our observations indicate the potential of the assessed proteins as prognostic markers. However, further studies of PRMT5 and DSG2 are required to provide greater insight into cervical carcinogenesis.
Asunto(s)
Biomarcadores de Tumor , Desmogleína 2 , Lesiones Precancerosas , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferasas , Neoplasias del Cuello Uterino , Humanos , Femenino , Neoplasias del Cuello Uterino/patología , Neoplasias del Cuello Uterino/metabolismo , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferasas/metabolismo , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferasas/análisis , Desmogleína 2/metabolismo , Desmogleína 2/análisis , Biomarcadores de Tumor/análisis , Biomarcadores de Tumor/metabolismo , Lesiones Precancerosas/patología , Lesiones Precancerosas/metabolismo , Adulto , Pronóstico , Persona de Mediana Edad , Inmunohistoquímica , Displasia del Cuello del Útero/patología , Displasia del Cuello del Útero/metabolismoRESUMEN
Annual gynecological examination with cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination ensures the appropriate prevention of the onset and progression of cervical cancer. Currently, efforts are being made to find new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Fascin, an actin-bundling protein, promotes cellular migration. Its overexpression has been observed in many types of squamous carcinomas and was usually correlated with a worse prognosis and metastasis. However, the data on fascin expression in cervical lesions are limited. This study focuses on the quantitative evaluation of fascin expression, the immunoreaction intensity and subcellular localization of fascin expression in low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Fascin expression was also correlated with the routinely used diagnostic markers p16 and Ki-67. Biopsy specimens (n = 67) of LSIL, HSIL and SCC were taken from adult women in the age range 20-86 years. Fascin expression was detected by immunohistochemical analysis and quantified using morphometric software. Analysis of variance confirmed statistically significant differences in the percentage of fascin-positive cells between the LSIL, HSIL and SCC groups. Finally, the results showed a significant positive correlation between fascin expression and p16 and Ki-67 expression.