ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although penile cancer (PC) is uncommon in developed countries, it is widespread in developing countries. The state of Maranhão (Northeast, Brazil) has the highest global incidence recorded for PC, and, despite its socioeconomic vulnerability, it has been attributed to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. This study aimed to determine the histopathological features, the prevalence of HPV infection, and the immunohistochemical profile of PC in Maranhão. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of 200 PC cases were evaluated. HPV detection was performed using nested-PCR followed by direct sequencing for genotyping. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed using monoclonal antibodies anti-p16INK4a, p53, and ki-67. RESULTS: Our data revealed a delay of 17 months in diagnosis, a high rate of penile amputation (96.5%), and HPV infection (80.5%) in patients from Maranhão (Molecular detection). We demonstrated the high rate of HPV in PC also by histopathological and IHC analysis. Most patients presented koilocytosis (75.5%), which was associated with those reporting more than 10 different sexual partners during their lifetime (p = 0.001). IHC revealed frequent p16INK4a overexpression (26.0%) associated with basaloid (p < 0.001) and high-grade tumors (p = 0.008). Interestingly, p16 appears not to be a better prognostic factor in our disease-free survival analysis, as previously reported. We also demonstrated high ki-67 and p53 expression in a subset of cases, which was related to worse prognostic factors such as high-grade tumors, angiolymphatic and perineural invasion, and lymph node metastasis. We found a significant impact of high ki-67 (p = 0.002, log-rank) and p53 (p = 0.032, log-rank) expression on decreasing patients' survival, as well as grade, pT, stage, pattern, and depth of invasion (p < 0.05, log-rank). CONCLUSIONS: Our data reaffirmed the high incidence of HPV infection in PC cases from Maranhão and offer new insights into potential factors that may contribute to the high PC incidence in the region. We highlighted the possible association of HPV with worse clinical prognosis factors, differently from what was observed in other regions. Furthermore, our IHC analysis reinforces p16, ki-67, and p53 expression as important diagnosis and/or prognosis biomarkers, potentially used in the clinical setting in emerging countries such as Brazil.
Subject(s)
Papillomavirus Infections , Penile Neoplasms , Antibodies, Monoclonal/metabolism , Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis , Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16/metabolism , Humans , Incidence , Ki-67 Antigen/genetics , Ki-67 Antigen/metabolism , Male , Papillomaviridae/metabolism , Papillomavirus Infections/complications , Papillomavirus Infections/epidemiology , Penile Neoplasms/epidemiology , Penile Neoplasms/pathology , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/geneticsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are small non-coding nucleotide sequences that regulate gene expression. These structures are fundamental to several biological processes, including cell proliferation, development, differentiation and apoptosis. Identifying the expression profile of microRNAs in healthy human gastric antrum mucosa may help elucidate the miRNA regulatory mechanisms of the human stomach. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A small RNA library of stomach antrum tissue was sequenced using high-throughput SOLiD sequencing technology. The total read count for the gastric mucosa antrum region was greater than 618,000. After filtering and aligning using with MirBase, 148 mature miRNAs were identified in the gastric antrum tissue, totaling 3,181 quality reads; 63.5% (2,021) of the reads were concentrated in the eight most highly expressed miRNAs (hsa-mir-145, hsa-mir-29a, hsa-mir-29c, hsa-mir-21, hsa-mir-451a, hsa-mir-192, hsa-mir-191 and hsa-mir-148a). RT-PCR validated the expression profiles of seven of these highly expressed miRNAs and confirmed the sequencing results obtained using the SOLiD platform. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In comparison with other tissues, the antrum's expression profile was unique with respect to the most highly expressed miRNAs, suggesting that this expression profile is specific to stomach antrum tissue. The current study provides a starting point for a more comprehensive understanding of the role of miRNAs in the regulation of the molecular processes of the human stomach.
Subject(s)
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods , MicroRNAs/genetics , Pyloric Antrum/metabolism , Gene Expression Profiling , HumansABSTRACT
A pesquisa visa ao melhoramento em um dos processos da biossegurança, no que diz respeito aos acidentes biológicos em uma instituição de ensino odontológico. Fizeram parte do Centro Operacional alunos da graduação, docentes, pessoal de apoio e administradores. A perspectiva atual é a redução dos acidentes para 1,5 por cento a 2 por cento por semestre, em relação ao quantitativo de pessoas envolvidas nas clínicas e laboratórios; o prognóstico da anterior era de 2,5 a 3 por cento. Constatou-se que, com a utilização de algumas técnicas ou ferramentas de qualidade, houve uma diminuição dos acidentes, melhorando a confiabilidade, segurança e redução de custos
Subject(s)
Accident Prevention , Accidents , Risk Factors , Safety , Universal PrecautionsABSTRACT
Discute a política de ciência e tecnologia concluindo que faltam no Brasil, principalmente, pesquisas fundamentais e recursos humanos. A concentraçäo de recursos e de esforços neste setor, näo trouxe progresso como deveria ocorrer, por que näo atendem as necessidades fundamentais do povo. Sugere uma política que respeite as origens e tendências da populaçäo, dando um sentido social à política de biotecnologia em saúde. (AMSB)
