Human α-defensin (DEFA) gene expression helps to characterise benign and malignant salivary gland tumours

BMC Cancer

Research Article

Jean-Pierre Allam¹  Natalija Novak¹  Matthias Wenghoefer²  Jan Reckenbeil²  Rudolf Reich²  Hans-Peter Fischer³  Jochen Winter⁴  Soeren Jepsen⁴  Dominik Kraus⁵  Annette Pantelis⁶ 

[1]Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105, Bonn, Germany

[2]Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105, Bonn, Germany

[3]Department of Pathology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

[4]Department of Periodontology, Operative and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstr, 1753111, Bonn, Germany

[5]Department of Prosthodontics, Preclinical Education, and Material Science, University of Bonn, 1753111, Welschnonnenstr, Bonn, Germany

[6]Waldkrankenhaus, Waldstrasse 73, 53177, Bonn, Germany

关键词: DEFA 1/3;    DEFA 4;    Salivary gland;    Tumour;    Defensins;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2407-12-465

 received in 2012-05-08, accepted in 2012-10-02,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBecause of the infrequence of salivary gland tumours and their complex histopathological diagnosis it is still difficult to exactly predict their clinical course by means of recurrence, malignant progression and metastasis. In order to define new proliferation associated genes, purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of human α-defensins (DEFA) 1/3 and 4 in different tumour entities of the salivary glands with respect to malignancy.MethodsTissue of salivary glands (n=10), pleomorphic adenomas (n=10), cystadenolymphomas (n=10), adenocarcinomas (n=10), adenoidcystic carcinomas (n=10), and mucoepidermoid carcinomas (n=10) was obtained during routine surgical procedures. RNA was extracted according to standard protocols. Transcript levels of DEFA 1/3 and 4 were analyzed by quantitative realtime PCR and compared with healthy salivary gland tissue. Additionally, the proteins encoded by DEFA 1/3 and DEFA 4 were visualized in paraffin-embedded tissue sections by immunohistochemical staining.ResultsHuman α-defensins are traceable in healthy as well as in pathological altered salivary gland tissue. In comparison with healthy tissue, the gene expression of DEFA 1/3 and 4 was significantly (p<0.05) increased in all tumours – except for a significant decrease of DEFA 4 gene expression in pleomorphic adenomas and a similar transcript level for DEFA 1/3 compared to healthy salivary glands.ConclusionsA decreased gene expression of DEFA 1/3 and 4 might protect pleomorphic adenomas from malignant transformation into adenocarcinomas. A similar expression pattern of DEFA-1/3 and -4 in cystadenolymphomas and inflamed salivary glands underlines a potential importance of immunological reactions during the formation of Warthin’s tumour.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Winter et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.