open access

Vol 52, No 2 (2014)
Original paper
Submitted: 2014-06-11
Accepted: 2014-06-16
Published online: 2014-07-09
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Immunohistochemical visualization of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in ovarian tumors

Danuta Plewka, Anna E. Kowalczyk, Beata Jakubiec-Bartnik, Michal Morek, Edyta Bogunia, Andrzej Kmiec, Piotr M. Wierzbicki, Andrzej Plewka
DOI: 10.5603/FHC.2014.0015
·
Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2014;52(2):124-137.

open access

Vol 52, No 2 (2014)
ORIGINAL PAPERS
Submitted: 2014-06-11
Accepted: 2014-06-16
Published online: 2014-07-09

Abstract

Epithelial ovarian cancer represents one of the most deadly gynaecological neoplasms in developed countries and is a highly heterogeneous disease. Epidemiological studies show that anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the incidence and mortality of several types of cancer, indicating the potential role of pro-inflammatory factors in carcinogenesis. The expression of pro-inflammatory factors in various cancer types, including ovarian cancer, was assessed in many studies, yielding in consistent results, often due to the histological heterogeneity of various cancers. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of IL-1, IL-6, TGF-β, TNF-α, COX-2,iNOS, and NF-kB in serous and mucinous ovarian cancers. Ninety cases of ovarian tumors classified into mucous and serous type (45 patients in each group) were selected. Each group was classified into subgroups according to the three stages of tumor differentiation, i.e. into (i) benign, (ii) borderline and (iii) malignant tumors. The presence of proteins of interest in paraffin sections was analysed by immunohistochemistry. The expression of most of the studied factors depended on the histological tumor subtype and the degree of malignancy. Expression of NF-κB appears to be related to the level of the neoplastic differentiation only in the group of serous tumors, while the presence of IL-6 in the mucinous tumor subtype was observed only in the case of benign lesions. Expression of IL-1, TNF-α and COX-2 increased with the stage of the disease in both serous and mucinous tumors. The highest level of TGF-β expression was observed in serous borderline tumors. The different levels of iNOS immunoreactivity between the groups of serous and mucinous tumors were observed only in borderline tumors. The results of our study may be helpful in designing therapeutic strategies depending on the type of ovarian cancer.

Abstract

Epithelial ovarian cancer represents one of the most deadly gynaecological neoplasms in developed countries and is a highly heterogeneous disease. Epidemiological studies show that anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the incidence and mortality of several types of cancer, indicating the potential role of pro-inflammatory factors in carcinogenesis. The expression of pro-inflammatory factors in various cancer types, including ovarian cancer, was assessed in many studies, yielding in consistent results, often due to the histological heterogeneity of various cancers. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of IL-1, IL-6, TGF-β, TNF-α, COX-2,iNOS, and NF-kB in serous and mucinous ovarian cancers. Ninety cases of ovarian tumors classified into mucous and serous type (45 patients in each group) were selected. Each group was classified into subgroups according to the three stages of tumor differentiation, i.e. into (i) benign, (ii) borderline and (iii) malignant tumors. The presence of proteins of interest in paraffin sections was analysed by immunohistochemistry. The expression of most of the studied factors depended on the histological tumor subtype and the degree of malignancy. Expression of NF-κB appears to be related to the level of the neoplastic differentiation only in the group of serous tumors, while the presence of IL-6 in the mucinous tumor subtype was observed only in the case of benign lesions. Expression of IL-1, TNF-α and COX-2 increased with the stage of the disease in both serous and mucinous tumors. The highest level of TGF-β expression was observed in serous borderline tumors. The different levels of iNOS immunoreactivity between the groups of serous and mucinous tumors were observed only in borderline tumors. The results of our study may be helpful in designing therapeutic strategies depending on the type of ovarian cancer.

Get Citation

Keywords

ovarian cancer subtypes; IHC; NF-κB; COX-2; iNOS; TNF-α; TGF-β; IL-1; IL-6

About this article
Title

Immunohistochemical visualization of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in ovarian tumors

Journal

Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica

Issue

Vol 52, No 2 (2014)

Article type

Original paper

Pages

124-137

Published online

2014-07-09

Page views

2136

Article views/downloads

2208

DOI

10.5603/FHC.2014.0015

Bibliographic record

Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2014;52(2):124-137.

Keywords

ovarian cancer subtypes
IHC
NF-κB
COX-2
iNOS
TNF-α
TGF-β
IL-1
IL-6

Authors

Danuta Plewka
Anna E. Kowalczyk
Beata Jakubiec-Bartnik
Michal Morek
Edyta Bogunia
Andrzej Kmiec
Piotr M. Wierzbicki
Andrzej Plewka

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