Molecular Subtypes of Extra-pulmonary Neuroendocrine Carcinomas Identified by the Expression of Neuroendocrine Lineage-Specific Transcription Factors

Extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas (EPNEC) represent a group of rare and heterogenous neoplasms with adverse clinical outcome. Their molecular profile is largely unexplored. Our aim was to investigate if the major transcriptional drivers recently described in high-grade pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas characterize distinct molecular and clinical subgroups of EPNEC. Gene expression of ASCL1, NEUROD1, DLL3, NOTCH1, INSM1, MYCL1, POU2F3, and YAP1 was investigated in a series of 54 EPNEC (including 10 cases with mixed components analyzed separately) and in a group of 48 pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (P-LCNEC). Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis classified the whole series into four major clusters. P-LCNEC were classified into two major clusters, the first ASCL1/DLL3/INSM1-high and the second (including four EPNEC) ASCL1/DLL3-low but INSM1-high. The remaining EPNEC cases were sub-classified into two other clusters. The first showed INSM1-high and alternative ASCL1/DLL3 or NEUROD1 high expression. The second was characterized mainly by MYCL1 and YAP1 overexpression. In the ten cases with mixed histology, ASCL1, DLL3, INSM1, and NEUROD1 genes were significantly upregulated in the neuroendocrine component. Higher gene-expression levels of NOTCH1 and INSM1 were associated with lower pT stage and negative nodal status. Low INSM1 gene expression was associated with shorter overall survival in the entire case series (p = 0.0017) and with a trend towards significance in EPNEC, only (p = 0.06). In conclusion, our results show that EPNEC possess distinct neuroendocrine-lineage-specific transcriptional profiles; moreover, low INSM1 gene expression represents a novel potential unfavorable prognostic marker in high-grade NECs including those in extra-pulmonary location

Antithrombin III in full-term and pre-term newborn infants: three cases of neonatal diagnosis of AT III congenital defect

Antithrombin III (AT III) plasma levels were investigated in 18 full term neonates and 14 healthy preterm neonates. A control group of 20 healthy adults was also studied. AT III was measured as antigen concentration (Ag) and antithrombin or anti-factor Xa heparin cofactor (H.C.) activities. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis on heparin-agarose (H-CIE) was carried out on plasma samples; moreover the distribution of isoantithrombins was investigated on whole plasma by a technique of crossed immunoelectrofocusing (CIEF). AT III plasma levels in full term infants were significantly lower as compared to the adult values. The preterm newborns group showed a further significant decrease in AT III levels as compared to the full term neonates. In all infants AT III H-CIE runs displayed a single fast moving anodal peak, so that a normal binding to heparin was demonstrated. The CIEF AT III plasma pattern of the adults as well as of all neonates displayed three major peaks at pH range 5.2-4.9, a small amount of AT III at pH 4.9-4.8 and a minor peak at pH 4.8-4.6, so that it was concluded that the isoantithrombins plasma distribution in neonatal age is identical to that of the adult subjects. Four neonates whose mothers were affected by AT III congenital defect were also investigated: diagnosis of congenital deficiency was established in three cases