Title |
Role of the mTOR pathway in minor salivary gland changes in Sjogren’s syndrome and systemic sclerosis
|
---|---|
Published in |
Arthritis Research & Therapy, August 2018
|
DOI | 10.1186/s13075-018-1662-4 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Zeki Soypaçacı, Zeynep Zehra Gümüş, Fulya Çakaloğlu, Mustafa Özmen, Dilek Solmaz, Sercan Gücenmez, Önay Gercik, Servet Akar |
Abstract |
To examine the activity of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway and its regulators, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), in minor salivary gland biopsies of Sjogren's syndrome (SS) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. We retrospectively evaluated SS, SSc, and SS-SSc overlap patients admitted to our outpatient rheumatology clinic between January 2007 and December 2015 who underwent a minor salivary gland biopsy. Patient demographics and some clinical features were obtained from hospital records. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze total mTOR, total PTEN, and TGF-β1 expression in the biopsied tissues. The biopsy specimens were also examined for the presence and degree of fibrosis. Minor salivary gland biopsies of 58 SS, 14 SSc, and 23 SS-SSc overlap patients were included in the study. There was no significant difference in mTOR expression between these groups (P = 0.622). PTEN protein was expressed in 87.2% of patients with SS, 57.9% with overlap syndrome, and 100% of the SSC patients, and these differences were statistically different (P = 0.023). Although ductal epithelial TGF-β1 expression was similar between the groups (P = 0.345), acinar cell expression was found to be more frequent in the SSc (72.7%) and overlap patients (85.7%) in comparison with the SS cases (58.2%; P = 0.004). mTOR may be one of the common pathways in the pathology of both SS and SSc. Hence, there may be a role for mTOR inhibitors in the treatment of both diseases. Additionally, PTEN and TGF-β1 expression may be a distinctive feature of SSc. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 24 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 6 | 25% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 6 | 25% |
Researcher | 3 | 13% |
Student > Postgraduate | 2 | 8% |
Student > Bachelor | 2 | 8% |
Other | 1 | 4% |
Unknown | 4 | 17% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 9 | 38% |
Immunology and Microbiology | 3 | 13% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 8% |
Computer Science | 1 | 4% |
Psychology | 1 | 4% |
Other | 1 | 4% |
Unknown | 7 | 29% |