Abstract
BackgroundPituitary adenoma (PA) is a benign brain tumor that can cause neurological, endocrinological and ophthalmological aberrations. Till now there is a need to identify factors that can influence the tumor invasiveness and recurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) promoter methylation, mRNA expression and the invasiveness or recurrence of PAs and patient clinical characteristics.MethodsStudy participants comprised of 102 subjects with a diagnosis of PA: 54 functioning and 48 non-functioning, 58 invasive and 30 non-invasive PAs and 14 relapses. The bisulfite treatment of tumor DNA and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR) method was used to determine the STAT3 gene promoter methylation. For the STAT3 mRNA expression, the first-strand cDNA was produced from total RNA by using reverse transcriptase and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed.ResultsIn 10.78% (11/102) of PA tissues STAT3 gene promoter was methylated. A gender of male and patient group older than 60 years were significantly associated with reduced STAT3 mRNA expression (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.025, p = 0.047, respectively). However, no more statistical differences were found between STAT3 promoter methylation, mRNA expression and patient clinical characteristics or PA invasiveness or recurrence.ConclusionsFurther investigations are needed to clarify the influence of STAT3 gene promoter methylation and mRNA expression changes in PAs.
Highlights
Pituitary adenoma (PA) is a benign brain tumor that can cause neurological, endocrinological and ophthalmological aberrations
Our results showed that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene was methylated in 10.78% (11/102) and non-methylated in 89.22% (91/102) of PA samples
These results indicate that STAT3 has low methylation status in PAs
Summary
Pituitary adenoma (PA) is a benign brain tumor that can cause neurological, endocrinological and ophthalmological aberrations. Till there is a need to identify factors that can influence the tumor invasiveness and recurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) promoter methylation, mRNA expression and the invasiveness or recurrence of PAs and patient clinical characteristics. Pituitary adenomas (PA) arise from adenohypophyseal cells and account for 10–15% of all intracranial neoplasms. Depending on PAs hormonal activity, they are classified as Surgical resection is the first-line of treatment for PAs, except for PRL-producing adenomas. The prediction of pituitary tumor behavior remains a challenge and factors known to be involved in pituitary tumorigenesis are not predictive of invasiveness or aggressiveness [4, 5].
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have