Immunohistochemical analysis of ghrelin expression in various types of adrenal tumors

Abstract

Introduction. Ghrelin, originally isolated from the endocrine cells of the gastric mucosa, is also expressed in many peripheral tissues, including normal adrenals and adrenocortical tumors. It was shown that ghrelin stimulates proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of adrenocortical cells. In the current study, we compared ghrelin expression at the protein level in various adrenal tumors. We analyzed whether immunoreactive ghrelin could be considered as a potential marker for different types of adrenal tumors. Material and methods. Study was carried out on 200 adrenal specimens arranged on microscope slide in tissue microarray format. We performed standardized immunohistochemical reactions with semiquantitative reaction intensity measurements.Results. At the protein level, the expression of ghrelin was significantly reduced in adrenocortical adenocarcinoma in relation to the control group and pheochromocytoma as well as cancer-adjacent normal adrenal tissue. In contrast, a relatively high ghrelin expression was found in pheochromocytoma compared to all analyzed groups, with the exception of cancer-adjacent normal adrenal tissue.Conclusions. The ghrelin expression profile at the protein level may be associated with the type of adrenal tumors. In this context, our results suggest that adrenal immunoreactive ghrelin may be considered as a sensitive and specific marker for differentiating adrenocortical carcinoma from adrenocortical adenoma and pheochromocytoma.

GHRL as a prognostic biomarker correlated with immune infiltrates and progression of precancerous lesions in gastric cancer

“…Ghrelin, a widely distributed peptide hormone, participates in a series of cancer progression (35); GHRL plays a vital role in carcinogenic potential, which was correlated with breast cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, and adrenal cancer (17)(18)(19)(20). There is an increasing evidence implicating an immunoregulatory role for ghrelin.…”

“…found that ghrelin and its receptor (GHSR) were expressed in T cells and monocytes; ghrelin inhibited the expression of proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin (IL)-6 and inhibited inflammatory reactions ( 12 ). It has been confirmed that the stomach was indeed not the only source of ghrelin ( 13 ); hypothalamus, hippocampus, pituitary gland, cortex, small intestine, and pancreas can also secrete a small amount of ghrelin ( 14 – 16 ), GHRL plays important roles in the development of tumors, and aberrant GHRL expression has been found in various cancers, such as breast cancer ( 17 ), lung cancer ( 18 ), bladder cancer ( 19 ), and adrenal cancer ( 20 ). At present, there were some researchers who found that ghrelin affects cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through different signaling pathways ( 21 – 24 ).…”

GHRL as a Prognostic Biomarker Correlated With Immune Infiltrates and Progression of Precancerous Lesions in Gastric Cancer

“…Ghrelin, a widely distributed peptide hormone, participates in a series of cancer progression [27] , GHRL plays a vital role in carcinogenic potential, which was correlated with breast cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, and adrenal cancer [17][18][19][20] . There is an increasing evidence implicating an immunoregulatory role for ghrelin.…”

“…Dixit et al found that ghrelin and its receptor (GHSR)were expressed in T cells and monocytes, ghrelin inhibited the expression of proin ammatory cytokines TNF-a and IL-6, and inhibited in ammatory reactions [12] . It has been con rmed that the stomach was indeed not the only source of ghrelin [13] , hypothalamus, hippocampus, pituitary gland, cortex, small intestine, and pancreas can also secrete a small amount of ghrelin [14][15][16] , GHRL plays important roles in the development of tumors, and aberrant GHRL expression has been found in various cancers, such as breast cancer [17] , lung cancer [18] , bladder cancer [19] , and adrenal cancer [20] . At present, there were some researchers who found that ghrelin affects cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through different signaling pathways [21][22][23][24] .…”

The Enhanced Expression of ZWILCH Predicts Poor Survival of Adrenocortical Carcinoma Patients

“…The detailed procedure for the preparation and staining of TMA sections was as previously described [ 28 ]. Briefly, after deparaffinization, the TMA section was rehydrated through a series of decreasing ethanol concentrations and subsequently washed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).…”