RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase-B/mammalian target of the rapamycin (PI3K-AKT-mTOR) signaling pathway is an important regulator of cell proliferation, survival, and motility. The gain or loss of function of proteins related to this pathway results in the neoplastic transformation in several types of cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the expression profile of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and HNSCC cell lines. STUDY DESIGN: The study involved 26 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from patients with HNSCC. The analysis of immunohistochemical expression of PI3K, AKT, p-mTOR, and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) proteins was performed by a quantitative assessment. The in vitro gene and protein expression evaluation was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay, respectively, in the human cell lines SCC-9 and FaDu. RESULTS: High levels of PI3K, AKT, and p-mTOR were found in most HNSCC tumors. Following this result, we observed low amounts or absence of PTEN in most samples. Additionally, the FaDu cells (pharynx) showed higher AKT expression but lower expression of p-mTOR compared with SCC-9 cells (oral cavity), which hints at a loco-anatomical relevance. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study found increased expression of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway along with evident PTEN reduction in head and neck cancer.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias de Cabeza y Cuello , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinasas , Brasil , Línea Celular Tumoral , Proliferación Celular , Humanos , Fosfohidrolasa PTEN/genética , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinasas/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-akt/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-akt/metabolismo , Sirolimus , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas de Cabeza y Cuello , Serina-Treonina Quinasas TOR/genética , Serina-Treonina Quinasas TOR/metabolismoRESUMEN
Dengue virus (DENV) transmission by blood transfusion is an important route of viral acquisition during outbreaks. The prevalence of DENV markers (viral RNA, NS1, anti-DENV IgM, and IgG) among blood donors in Central-West Brazil has never been evaluated. Our aim was to evaluate the full set of serological and molecular markers for DENV among blood donors of the Federal District of Brazil during an extensive outbreak in 2016. We found an anti-DENV IgM prevalence of 6.74% (n = 32/475). Of 475, 20 samples (4.21%) were also anti-DENV IgG positive. All samples were non-reactive for NS1 and DENV RNA. Our results imply that a significant proportion of the tested donors had experienced asymptomatic infection. More studies are necessary to evaluate the real prevalence of DENV viremia in blood donors from the Federal District of Brazil and if specific measures are needed to routinely test the blood donors for DENV RNA during outbreaks.