Rapisarda Venerando, Broggi Giuseppe, Caltabiano Rosario, Lombardo Claudia, Castorina Sergio, Trovato Angela, Ledda Caterina, Filetti Veronica, Loreto Carla
Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Anatomic Pathology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, G.F. Ingrassia, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Histol Histopathol. 2021 Dec;36(12):1301-1308. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-396. Epub 2021 Nov 11.
Literature evidence has demonstrated a high incidence of asbestos-related malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in a Sicilian town (Biancavilla, Italy), where fluoro-edenite (FE) fibers were discovered some decades ago. As ATG7 immunohistochemical analysis has been ascribed as a prognostic tool of improved survival, we decided to investigate, in MPM patients, exposed and not exposed to FE fibers, the immunohistochemical expression of this autophagy-related protein named ATG7. We analyzed the correlation between ATG7 immunohistochemical level and clinicopathological parameters. Twenty MPM tissue samples, from patients with available clinical and follow-up data, were included in paraffin and processed for immunohistochemistry. The immunohistochemical results confirmed activation of the autophagic process in MPM. Densitometric and morphometric expressions of ATG7 were significantly increased in MPMs when compared to the control tissues. A significant association of a high level of ATG7 with increased survival was demonstrated, with a mean overall survival (OS) of 12.5 months for patients with high expression vs. a mean OS of 4.5 months for patients with low ATG7 expression. In addition, a significant correlation between ATG7 expression and the survival time of MPM patients was observed. This study represents a starting point to hypothesize the prognostic role of ATG7 which could be a reliable prognostic indicator in MPM.
文献证据表明，在西西里岛的一个城镇（意大利的比安卡维拉），石棉相关的恶性胸膜间皮瘤（MPM）发病率很高，几十年前在那里发现了氟绿脱石（FE）纤维。由于ATG7免疫组织化学分析被认为是一种改善生存率的预后工具，我们决定在暴露于和未暴露于FE纤维的MPM患者中，研究这种名为ATG7的自噬相关蛋白的免疫组织化学表达。我们分析了ATG7免疫组织化学水平与临床病理参数之间的相关性。从有可用临床和随访数据的患者中选取20份MPM组织样本，制成石蜡切片并进行免疫组织化学处理。免疫组织化学结果证实了MPM中自噬过程的激活。与对照组织相比，MPM中ATG7的光密度和形态计量表达显著增加。结果表明，高水平的ATG7与生存率增加显著相关，高表达患者的平均总生存期（OS）为12.5个月，而低ATG7表达患者的平均OS为4.5个月。此外还观察到ATG7表达与MPM患者生存时间之间存在显著相关性。本研究是推测ATG7预后作用的起点，其可能是MPM中一个可靠的预后指标。
