published_or_final_version / Pharmacology / Master / Master of Philosophy

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Introduction Previous studies on the glandular odontogenic cyst (GOC) have largely focused on the application of immunohistochemistry for determining how the GOC lining epithelium compares with that of other odontogenic cysts. Studies on the histochemical composition of the mucous cells in the GOC are, however, lacking. This study therefore aimed to determine the mucin phenotype of the mucous cells in the GOC and compared these findings with the mucous cells in the epithelial linings of other odontogenic cysts and with normal salivary gland mucous acinar cells. Materials and Methods Twenty-seven cases made up of 10 GOCs, 9 dentigerous cysts (DC) with mucous cells and 8 radicular/residual radicular cysts (RC) with mucous cells were stained using the combined alcian blue pH 2.5-PAS (AB-PAS) histochemical technique. AB-PAS allows for differentiation between acidic- (type I mucous cells), neutral- (type II mucous cells) and mixed mucin-containing cells (type III mucous cells). Submandibular, sublingual and palatal salivary gland tissue was also subjected to AB-PAS staining. The odontogenic cysts and salivary glands were evaluated for the frequency of type I, II and III mucous cells in these tissues. Results There were significant differences between the level of type I, type II and type III mucous cells within each of the three cyst types; GOC (p=0.006), DC (p=0.0004), RC (p=0.0017). There were no significant differences in the cell counts for each mucous cell type between the 3 cyst types;type I mucous cells (p=0.54); type II mucous cells (p=0.73) and type III mucous cells (p=0.97).All 3 odontogenic cysts showed a predominance of type III mucous cells and this mirrored the mucin phenotype of the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands. Conclusion The mucin phenotype of the GOC is shared by DC and RC with mucous metaplasia. The overlapping mucin phenotypes of the different odontogenic cysts unfortunately does not support the use of the AB-PAS stain as a potential histochemical marker to distinguish between the GOC and other odontogenic cysts with mucous metaplasia. Similarities in the mucin phenotype between odontogenic cysts, submandibular and sublingual salivary glands may suggest a common ectodermal histogenetic origin for the mucous cells in odontogenic cysts and major salivary glands.

O Papilomavírus Humano (HPV) é uma prevalente infecção do mundo atual, sendo o comportamento sexual um fator determinante para a o acometimento da infecção. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o HPV em diferentes sítios de infecção, buscando um maior entendimento do seu mecanismo de disseminação. Foram analisadas amostras das mucosas cervical, oral e do sangue de 50 pacientes do sexo feminino. Foram identificados o HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-31 e HPV-33. Nenhuma paciente foi negativa para os quatro tipos nos três sítios. O HPV-16 foi o mais detectado e o mais prevalente nos três sítios, simultaneamente, 32 pacientes apresentaram esse perfil. Todos os tipos virais presentes no sangue, também estavam presentes na mucosa cervical, na mucosa oral ou em ambas. Foram identificados seis achados citológicos, sugestivos da infecção pelo HPV. Foi realizada a detecção dos transcritos virais de E6, E6/E7 e L1 nos três sítios. Os resultados do nosso trabalho demonstram a alta prevalência do HPV, a atividade viral nos três sítios analisados e a provável disseminação do vírus. / Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent infections of the current world, with sexual behavior being one determining fator of infection. The objective of this study was to study HPV in different sites of infection, seeking a better understanding of its mechanism and spreading. Cervical, oral and blood mucosa samples from 50 female patients were analyzed. HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-31 and HPV-33 were identified. No patient was negative in the four types at all three sites. HPV-16 was the most detected and the most prevalent in the three sites, simultaneously, 32 patients presented this profile. All viral types present in the blood were also present in the cervical mucosa, oral mucosa, or both. Six cytological findings were identified, suggestive of infection by HPV. Detection of viral transcripts of E6, E6 / E7 and L1 was performed at the three sites. The results of our study demonstrate the high prevalence of HPV, viral activity in the three sites analyzed and the probable virus spreading.

Introdução: O melanoma mucoso de cabeça e pescoço (MMCP) é mais agressivo do que o melanoma cutâneo, marcadores prognósticos desta patologia não foram completamente esclarecidos devido a sua raridade. Em recentes estudos, algumas vias moleculares foram descritas na fisiopatologia destes tumores. Entre estas vias, existe a via da MAPK (Mitogen Activated Protein Quinase). Esta via de sinalização está envolvida no controle do crescimento celular, proliferação e migração, com um papel no desenvolvimento e progressão do melanoma. Além disso, a mutação do gene KIT foi identificada em melanomas, indicando a possibilidade de benefícios terapêuticos com o uso dos inibidores de tirosino-quinase. Objetivos: descrever a prevalência e características de mutações ativadoras do gene KIT em 28 pacientes com MMCP tratados no Instituto Nacional do Câncer-INCa; avaliar a relação entre a presença de mutação ativadora do gene KIT e evolução clínica dos pacientes tratados em relação ao estadiamento, sobrevida livre de doença e sobrevida global. Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo de coorte, foram incluídos 28 pacientes com MMCP tratados no INCA, entre 1998 e 2009. Foram analisados: estadiamento, tratamento primário, sobrevida livre de doença (SLD) e sobrevida global (SG). As curvas de sobrevida foram analisados utilizando o método de Kaplan-Meier, com software SPS 11.0. Análise KIT: O DNA foi extraído a partir de tecido incluído e fixado em parafina. O procedimento consiste de múltiplas etapas de desparafinização com xilol. Os restos celulares são precipitados por centrifugação e o DNA, no sobrenadante é utilizado nas reações de PCR (direto ou diluído). A análise mutacional do gene foi realizada utilizando-se a amplificação por PCR seguida pelo sequenciamento genômico. As análises são iniciadas pelo éxon 11, seguidas do éxon 9, 17 e 13. Resultados: Os pacientes eram predominantemente do sexo feminino (57%). A idade de apresentação variou de 27 a 85 anos. A região nasossinusal foi o sítio primário mais frequente (75%). Todos os pacientes foram submetidos a ressecção cirúrgica. Dezessete pacientes receberam radioterapia adjuvante (37%). As recorrências ocorreram em 82% dos pacientes. Presença de mutação de KIT foi encontrada em 7 casos (25%), três no éxon 9, 3 no éxon 11 e 1 no éxon 13. Fatores preditivos de recorrência foram índice mitótico (p = 0,05), invasão vascular (p = 0,043), e a disseminação perineural (p = 0,034). Não houve diferenças significativas na SLD e SG de acordo com a mutação KIT. Conclusão: A presente série incluiu 28 casos tratados. Sete casos (25%) tinham mutações ativadoras KIT. Esta descoberta sugere que existe um grupo de pacientes que poderiam se beneficiar com a terapia-alvo adequado com inibidores de tirosino-quinase / Unlike their cutaneous counterparts, head and neck mucosal malignant melanomas (HNMM) behave much more aggressively and their prognostic markers have not been fully elucidated. In recent studies, some molecular pathways have been found to be involved in the pathogenesis of melanomas. Among these, there is a proliferative MAPK pathway (\"Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase\"). This signaling pathway is involved in controlling cell growth, proliferation and migration, with a role in the development and progression of melanoma. In addition, KIT gene mutation has been identified in melanomas, indicating that there may be potential therapeutic benefits of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Objectives: Evaluation of KIT mutation prevalence in a subset of 28 patients with HNMM treated at a single institution, establishing the relationship between different mutations and outcome (DFS and OS). The primary end-point of the study was to define the incidence of KIT mutations in HNMM, including the relationship between KIT mutations with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in HNMM. Secondary end-points were correlation among therapeutic options, histopathological findings, demographic data and clinical response. Methods: This retrospective study comprised data of 28 patients with HNMM treated at Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA) between 2000 and 2011. Clinical analysis included patients characteristics, staging, primary and palliative treatments, disease free survival and overall survival. Progression-free survival and overall survival were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, with SPS 11.0 software. KIT analysis: paraffin blocks were selected following analyses of histologic preparations, enabling DNA extraction. Different DNA concentrations were employed in PCR amplifications, based on DNA integrity. PCR amplification of exon, 9, 11, 13 and 17 was performed. . Results: Patients were predominantly females (57%). The age of presentation ranged from 27 to 85 years. The sinonasal region was the most frequent primary site (75%). All patients underwent surgical resection. Seventeen patients received adjuvant radiotherapy (37%). Recurrences occurred in 82% patients. Oncologic mutations in KIT were found in 7 (25%) of seven tumors, 3 in exon 9, 3 in exon 11 and 1 in exon 13. Predictive factors for recurrence were mitotic rate (p=0.05), vascular invasion (p=0.043), and perineural spread (p=0.034). There were no significant differences in DFS and OS according to KIT mutation. Conclusion: HNMM remains a rare disease. The present single-institution series includes 28 cases treated in single institution. Seven cases (25%) had activating KIT mutations, which is an increased prevalence of activating KIT mutations in this specific subset of mucosal melanomas. This finding suggests that there is a group of patients who might benefit with appropriate targeted therapy with kinase inhibitors