8 research outputs found
Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) and Global H3K27 Trimethylation Expression During Progression of Thyroid Cancer
none7siBackground: EZH2 is a histone lysine methyltransferase that is a member of the
polycomb group protein family. EZH2 plays an important role in the epigenetic
maintenance of H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3). Abnormal EZH2 expression
has been associated with various cancers. We examined the expression of EZH2 and
H3K27me3 to determine their roles in thyroid cancer progression.
Design: Anaplastic thyroid carcinomas (ATC, n=35), poorly differentiated thyroid
carcinomas (PDTC, n=21), papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC, n=28), follicular variant
of papillary thyroid carcinomas (FVPTC, n=29), follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTC,
n=28), follicular adenomas (FA, n=31) and normal thyroids (NT, n=10) on a tissue
microarray (TMA) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using formalin-fixed
paraffin-embedded tissues. Antibodies to EZH2 (Novus, 1:100) and H3K27me3 (Cell
Signaling, 1:200) were used. IHC was scored based on the intensity and percentage
of nuclear staining. Survival analysis was performed using the statistical computing
software R.
Results: Both EZH2 and H3K27me3 showed strong nuclear staining. The highest level
of EZH2 expression was observed in ATC (97%) followed by PDTC (90%). Levels were
lower in FA (71%), FTC (64%), PTC (79%) and FVPTC (79%). EZH2 expression was
significantly higher in ATC than in well-differentiated carcinomas (P<0.04). H3K27me3
expression was high in both benign and malignant thyroid tumors as well as in NT.
H3K27me3 expression was not significantly different in higher-grade tumors compared
to well-differentiated carcinomas and FA. The carcinoma types expressing the highest
levels of EZH2 (ATC and PDTC) had worse prognoses than the carcinoma types with
lower expression (P<0.001).
Conclusions: EZH2 is expressed in thyroid malignancies, and its expression correlates
with higher-grade tumors. EZH2 effects may also include H3K27me3-independent
mechanisms. Our findings suggest that EZH2 may play an important role in thyroid
tumor progression.mixedSundling, Kaitlin; Montemayor-Garcia, Celina; Hardin, Heather; Buehler, Darya; Asioli, Sofia; Righi, Alberto; Lloyd, Ricardo .Sundling, Kaitlin; Montemayor-Garcia, Celina; Hardin, Heather; Buehler, Darya; Asioli, Sofia; Righi, Alberto; Lloyd, Ricardo
Successful salvage chemotherapy and allogeneic transplantation of an acute myeloid leukemia patient with disseminated Fusarium solani infection
Disseminated Fusarium infection is associated with high mortality in immunocompromised patients. Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often have an extended duration of neutropenia during intensive induction chemotherapy, consolidation chemotherapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). There is no consensus regarding management of invasive disseminated Fusarium infections in the setting of prolonged neutropenia (Tortorano et al., 2014) [1]. We report a case of disseminated Fusarium in a patient with relapsed AML who underwent successful chemotherapy and haplo-identical allogeneic SCT with administration of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte infusions