Resumen de Pericentriolar material analyses in normal esophageal mucosa, Barrett´s metaplasia and adenocarcinoma
Daniela Segat, Mauro Cassaro, Emanuela Dazzo, Lucia Cavallini, Chiara Romualdi, Renato Salvador, Maria Pia Vitale, Libero Vitiello, Matteo Fassan, Massimo Rugge, Giovanni Zaninotto, Ermanno Ancona, Maurizio David Baroni
Barret´s esophagus metaplasia is a precancerous condition caused by chronic esophagitis. Chromosomal instability (CIN) is common in Barret´s cells: therefore, we investigated the possible presence of centrosomal aberrations (a main cause of CIN) by centrosomal protein immunostaining in paraffined esophageal samples of patients who developed a Barret´s adenocarcinoma. In most (55%) patients, alterations of the pericentriolar material (PCM) signals were evident and consistently marked the transition between normal epithelium to metaplasia. The alterations could even be found in adjacent native squamous epithelium, Barret´s mucosa and submucosal gland cells, as well as in the basal/epibasal layers of the mucosa and submucosal gland duct, which are the regions hosting esophageal stem and progenitor cells. These findings strongly support the hypothesis that the three esophageal histotypes (one being pathological) can have a common progenitor. Surprisingly, PCM defective signal eventually decreased with neoplastic progression, possibly to enhance the genome stability of advanced cancer cells. Importantly, PCM altered signals in Barret´s mucosa and their apparent evolution in successive histopathological steps were correlated to adenocarcinoma aggresiveness, suggesting PCM as a possible prognostic marker for tumor relapse. Extending our observations in a prospective study might help in the development of new prevention protocols for adenocarcinoma patients.
