ABSTRACT
The promotion of tumor growth is due to a combination of several mechanisms, including angiogenesis and the abundance of cell-derived inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of interleukin 17 (IL-17) and the expression of p53 and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), in order to determine the relationship between these markers and serum IL-17 levels in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Serum levels of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC) (n=40) and in a healthy group (n=37) were analysed by ELISA. Surgically resected specimens of 59 colorectal carcinomas were studied by immunohistochemical staining for VEGF and p53. Analyses by ELISA showed significantly higher IL-17 serum levels in patients with colorectal carcinoma than in control subjects (IL-17; mean 128.52+/-47.62 pg/ml vs. mean 101.91+/-22.46 pg/ml; p=0.022). We also found an inverse correlation between p53 expression and the level of IL-17 in the serum of patients with CRC. In fact, the serum concentration of IL-17 was significantly higher in patients who did not express p53 (p=0.023). There was no significant correlation between the expression of p53 and VEGF. However, concomitant expression of VEGF and p53 showed a significant correlation with the histological and nuclear grade of the carcinoma. The data presented in our study indicate that IL-17 might act as a valuable tumor marker in patients with CRC and that combined analysis of p53 and VEGF expression might provide additional information about tumor features.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/blood , Colorectal Neoplasms/blood , Interleukin-17/blood , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Colon/metabolism , Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Immunoenzyme Techniques , Male , Neoplasm Staging , Prognosis , Rectum/metabolism , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolismABSTRACT
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in 48 subjects: 22 healthy controls, 13 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis Stage I and 13 patients with lung cancer. All diagnoses were pathologically and clinically confirmed. Cytocentrifuge preparations were made, air-dried and stained for cytochemical examination of alveolar macrophages (AM) using indexing and scoring methods for the evaluation of esterase activity, intracellular amounts of glycogen, lipids and iron. Significant differences were found in the cytochemical examination of enzyme activity of AM and intracellular metabolic and ionic state, depending on pathological processes and smoking habits. There was a linear correlation between alpha naphthyl esterase activity and iron content in AM in patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma and in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, which makes it possible to assign individual patients to one of the groups. Cytochemical examination of BAL specimens might be of great significance for the prevention and early diagnosis of various malignant and non-malignant lung diseases.
