CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2023; 27(03): e461-e470
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1749371
Original Research

Study of Three Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Samples from Guilan, North of Iran

1   Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Paramedicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
,
2   Burn and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Velayat Hospital, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
,
2   Burn and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Velayat Hospital, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
,
3   Otorhinolaryngology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Amiralmomenin Hospital, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
,
4   Department of Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Paramedicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
,
1   Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Paramedicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
,
1   Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Paramedicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Introduction Finding biomarkers for highly lethal cancers is a priority.

Objective The current study was designed to understand the clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression as the biomarkers, and evaluate their correlation with each other, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the province of Guilan, North of Iran.

Methods Gene expression was evaluated in 25 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks from cases of confirmed NPC and 20 FFPE samples of non-NPC by quantifying messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein levels, using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods, respectively. Furthermore, the correlations among the protein levels of different genes, along with the patients' demographic characteristics were assessed.

Results Our findings on mRNA and protein levels demonstrated that the expression of the LMP1 gene in the NPC group was significantly elevated compared with that of the non-NPC group. In addition, the protein levels in the NPC group indicated a positive and significant correlation between LMP1 and VEGF expression. It was noted that both protein and mRNA levels showed no significant differences in the expression of TNF-α and VEGF genes between the NPC and control groups. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the expression of these proteins and the demographic characteristics of NPC patients.

Conclusion Overall, a significant increase in LMP1 expression was observed in NPC patients, which may serve as a diagnostic biomarker for NPC. Also, LMP1 might be involved in NPC progression by inducing VEGF gene expression.



Publication History

Received: 13 October 2021

Accepted: 17 April 2022

Article published online:
13 July 2022

© 2022. Fundação Otorrinolaringologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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