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Avădănei ER, Căruntu ID, Amalinei C, Păvăleanu I, Giușcă SE, Rusu A, Lozneanu L. Significance of the Galectin-8 Immunohistochemical Profile in Ovarian Cancer. Biomedicines 2024; 12:303. [PMID: 38397905 PMCID: PMC10887174 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12020303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Ovarian cancer (OC) still registers a high prevalence in female gynecological pathology. Given the aggressiveness of the tumor and the lack of response to conventional therapies, a current research interest is the identification of new prognostic markers. Gal-8, a member of the galectin family of molecules, involved in tumorigenesis, disease progression, and metastasis, has been assigned as a valuable tumor prognostic factor, and its inhibition may open new perspectives in cancer therapeutic management. Few studies have been carried out so far to evaluate OCs' galectin profiles. Our study aimed to characterize the Gal-8 profile in different types of ovarian neoplasia and to demonstrate its prognostic value. Our study group comprised 46 cases of OCs that were histologically and immunohistochemically investigated, introduced to Gal-8 immunoreactivity, qualitatively and semi-quantitatively evaluated, and correlated with clinicopathological characteristics. Gal-8 immunoexpression was identified in tumor epithelial cells, showing a dominant nuclear labeling, followed by cytoplasmic and mixed, nuclear, and cytoplasmic labeling. Significant differences between tumor histotypes were found in the statistical analysis between low and high Gal-8 immunoscore levels and clinicopathological features: HGSC (eng.= high-grade serous carcinoma) vs. LGSC (eng. = low-grade serous carcinoma), pathogenic types (type I vs. type II), and tumor grades. Our results reflect Gal-8 expression variability depending on the histological type and subtype, the progression stages, and the degree of differentiation of ovarian tumors, supporting its value as a prognostic factor. Our findings open perspectives for larger studies to validate our results, along with a potential Gal-8 transformation into a future therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena-Roxana Avădănei
- Department of Morphofunctional Sciences I—Histology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 University Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania; (E.-R.A.); (I.-D.C.); (S.-E.G.); (A.R.); (L.L.)
- Department of Pathology, Infectious Diseases “Saint Parascheva” Clinical Hospital, 700116 Iasi, Romania
| | - Irina-Draga Căruntu
- Department of Morphofunctional Sciences I—Histology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 University Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania; (E.-R.A.); (I.-D.C.); (S.-E.G.); (A.R.); (L.L.)
- Department of Pathology, “Dr. C. I. Parhon” Clinical Hospital, 700503 Iasi, Romania
| | - Cornelia Amalinei
- Department of Morphofunctional Sciences I—Histology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 University Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania; (E.-R.A.); (I.-D.C.); (S.-E.G.); (A.R.); (L.L.)
- Department of Histopathology, Institute of Legal Medicine, 700455 Iasi, Romania
| | - Ioana Păvăleanu
- Department of Mother and Child Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania
| | - Simona-Eliza Giușcă
- Department of Morphofunctional Sciences I—Histology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 University Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania; (E.-R.A.); (I.-D.C.); (S.-E.G.); (A.R.); (L.L.)
- Department of Pathology, “Dr. C. I. Parhon” Clinical Hospital, 700503 Iasi, Romania
| | - Andreea Rusu
- Department of Morphofunctional Sciences I—Histology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 University Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania; (E.-R.A.); (I.-D.C.); (S.-E.G.); (A.R.); (L.L.)
| | - Ludmila Lozneanu
- Department of Morphofunctional Sciences I—Histology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 University Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania; (E.-R.A.); (I.-D.C.); (S.-E.G.); (A.R.); (L.L.)
- Department of Pathology, “Saint Spiridon” Clinical Emergency County Hospital, 700111 Iasi, Romania
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