CCR2 and CCR5 genes polymorphisms in women with cervical lesions from Pernambuco,Northeast Region of Brazil: a case-control study

Polymorphisms in chemokine receptors play an important role in the progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) to cervical cancer (CC). Our study examined the association of CCR2-64I (rs1799864) andCCR5-Δ32 (rs333) polymorphisms with susceptibility to develop cervical lesion (CIN and CC) in a Brazilian population. The genotyping of 139 women with cervical lesions and 151 women without cervical lesions for the CCR2-64I and CCR5-Δ32 polymorphisms were performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The individuals carrying heterozygous or homozygous genotypes (GA+AA) for CCR2-64I polymorphisms seem to be at lower risk for cervical lesion [odds ratio (OR) = 0.37, p = 0.0008)]. The same was observed for the A allele (OR = 0.39, p = 0.0002), while no association was detected (p > 0.05) with CCR5-Δ32 polymorphism. Regarding the human papillomavirus (HPV) type, patients carrying the CCR2-64Ipolymorphism were protected against infection by HPV type 16 (OR = 0.35, p = 0.0184). In summary, our study showed a protective effect ofCCR2-64I rs1799864 polymorphism against the development of cervical lesions (CIN and CC) and in the susceptibility of HPV 16 infection.     

Digital image analysis of AgNORs in cervical smears of women with premalignant and malignant lesions of the uterine cervix

We performed a hospital-based, unmatched case-control study to investigate the association between progressive stages of cervical neoplasia and digital analysis of cell proliferation by silver stained nucleolus organizer region associated proteins (AgNORs). We measured cell proliferation levels in the cervical epithelial cells of 10 women with low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LG-SIL), eight with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HG-SIL), 11 with cervical cancer (CC) and eight with no cervical lesions (controls) using the AgNORs technique. Cell proliferation was measured by digital image analysis (DIA). DIA revealed increased total areas of AgNORs in HG-SIL and CC compared to LG-SIL and control patients. AgNORs with a kidney or cluster shape exhibited greater areas than those with a spherical or long shape. We propose a cut-off of 118 pixels to differentiate benign (control and LG-SIL) from malignant (HG-SIL and CC) lesions. DIA of AgNORs is a simple and inexpensive method for studying proliferation. The increased total area of AgNORs in malignant lesions provides information regarding cell behavior and may be related to cervical carcinogenesis; however, further validation studies are required to establish its usefulness in cytological analysis.     

长链非编码RNA与宫颈癌

长链非编码RNA (Long non-coding RNA,lncRNAs)是RNA的其中一员,其结构类似于mRNA,但由于没有保守的开放阅读框,因此不能编码蛋白质。LncRNAs曾被认为是基因转录后的异常现象或噪音,没有任何的生物学功能。随着研究的进一步深入,发现其可作为重要的调控分子参与人类正常或异常的生物学活动过程。LncRNAs与神经系统功能、机体代谢紊乱以及肿瘤等疾病的发生发展密切相关。异常表达于宫颈癌的lncRNAs通过发挥抑制肿瘤或促进肿瘤的作用,参与调控宫颈癌的各个生物学过程。文中结合最新报道就lncRNAs在宫颈癌的异常调节、分子调节机制和潜在临床应用方面进行综述。     

The potential of biobanked liquid based cytology samples for cervical cancer screening using Raman spectroscopy

Patient samples are unique and often irreplaceable. This allows biobanks to be a valuable source of material. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of Raman spectroscopy to screen for histologically confirmed cases of Cervical Intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) using biobanked liquid based cytology (LBC) samples. Two temperatures for long term storage were assessed; 80°C and ?25°C. The utility of Raman spectroscopy for the detection of CIN was compared for fresh LBC samples and biobanked LBC samples. Two groups of samples were used for the study with one group associated with disease (CIN 3) and the other associated with no disease (cytology negative). The data indicates that samples stored at ?80°C are not suitable for assessment by Raman spectroscopy due to a lack of cellular material and the presence of cellular debris. However, the technology can be applied to fresh LBC samples and those stored at ?25°C and is, moreover, effective in the discrimination of negative samples from those where CIN 3 has been confirmed. Pooled fresh and biobanked samples are also amenable to the technology and achieve a similar sensitivity and specificity for CIN 3. This study demonstrates that cervical cytology samples stored within biobanks at temperatures that preclude cell lysis can act as a useful resource for Raman spectroscopy and will facilitate research and translational studies in this area.