ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Expression of GATA-6 transcription factor in pleural malignant mesothelioma and metastatic pulmonary adenocarcinoma

P M Lindholm^1,2, Y Soini³, M Myllärniemi¹, S Knuutila², M Heikinheimo⁴, V L Kinnula¹, K Salmenkivi²

¹ Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Division, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
² Department of Pathology, Haartman Institute and HUSLAB, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
³ Department of Clinical Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Kuopio University, Kuopio and Oulu Central University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
⁴ Children’s Hospital, Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, Finland, and Department of Pediatrics, Washington, University in St Louis, Missouri, USA

Dr K Salmenkivi, Department of Pathology, Haartman Institute and HUSLAB, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, PO Box 21, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; kaisa.salmenkivi{at}helsinki.fi

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a highly aggressive tumour with poor prognosis and limited response to therapy. New markers for the prediction of prognosis in MM and in pulmonary adenocarcinoma of the pleura are valuable. GATA-6 belongs to a six member zinc finger transcription factor family named after their recognition motif W-GATA-R.

Aim: To clarify the distribution and possible function of GATA-6 transcription factor in MM and in pleural metastasis of lung adenocarcinomas.

Methods: 63 pleural MM and 36 pleural metastatic pulmonary adenocarcinomas were studied for GATA-6 expression by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays. Expression of GATA-6 was examined in relation to thyroid transcription factor-1 expression, survival, proliferation and apoptosis.

Results: Nuclear immunoreactivity for GATA-6 was stronger and more frequent in MM than in metastatic pleural adenocarcinoma. Prognosis was better in patients with GATA-6 expression when compared to those with no GATA-6 expression (p = 0.002); in the subgroup analysis the difference was significant in epithelial and sarcomatous mesothelioma. GATA-6 was not associated with spontaneous proliferation or apoptosis of the tumour cells in situ.

Conclusion: Results suggest that GATA-6 plays a role in pleural malignancies, predicting longer survival in subgroups of MM.

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