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Serum amyloid A1 is upregulated in human glioblastoma

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Abstract

Serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) is a sensitive acute phase reactant primarily produced by the liver in response to acute inflammation. We have recently shown that SAA affects proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioblastoma cell lines, which suggest its participation in the malignant process. Consistently, levels of SAA have been used as a non-invasive biomarker for the prognosis of many cancers. In this study, we aimed to investigate SAA serum levels and expression of SAA genes in human astrocytomas tissues. Serum and tissue samples were obtained from patients with astrocytoma grades I to III and glioblastoma (GBM or grade IV). Levels of circulating SAA were significantly higher in the serum of patients with AGII-IV when compared to non-neoplastic samples derived from non-neoplastic patients (NN) (p > 0.0001). Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) of 148 astrocytomas samples (grades I-IV) showed that SAA1 mRNA was significantly higher in GBM when compared to AGI-III and NN samples (p < 0.0001). Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed cytoplasmic positivity for SAA in GBM. There was no correlation of SAA1 with clinical end-point of overall survival among GBM patients. However, it was found a positive correlation between SAA1 and genes involved in tumor progression, such as: HIF1A (r = 0.50; p < 0.00001), CD163 (r = 0.52; p < 0.00001), CXCR4 (r = 0.42; p < 0.00001) and CXCR7 (r = 0.33; p = 0.002). In conclusions, we show that astrocytoma patients have increased levels of serum SAA and SAA1 is expressed and secreted in GBM, and its co-expression with tumor-related genes supports its involvement in GBM angiogenesis and progression.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Grants from support: Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, 2009/54187-9 and 2011/00469-3); National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq, Brasília); and Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Brasília).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Franciele Hinterholz Knebel, Luziane Potrich Bellé & Ana Campa

  2. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Miyuki Uno, Thais F. Galatro, Sueli Mieko Oba-Shinjo & Suely Kazue N. Marie

  3. Center for Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo (ICESP), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Miyuki Uno, Sueli Mieko Oba-Shinjo & Suely Kazue N. Marie

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  1. Franciele Hinterholz Knebel
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  2. Miyuki Uno
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Correspondence to Franciele Hinterholz Knebel.

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This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Hospital das Clinicas of School of Medicine of University of São Paulo (691/05) and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Knebel, F.H., Uno, M., Galatro, T.F. et al. Serum amyloid A1 is upregulated in human glioblastoma. J Neurooncol 132, 383–391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-017-2386-z

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