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Upregulation of Bcl‐2 in nasal polyps from patients with cystic fibrosis
Author(s) -
Scapa Victor I.,
Ramakrishnan Vijay R.,
Kingdom Todd T.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international forum of allergy and rhinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.503
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 2042-6984
pISSN - 2042-6976
DOI - 10.1002/alr.21107
Subject(s) - downregulation and upregulation , medicine , immunohistochemistry , nasal polyps , western blot , pathology , staining , biology , gene , biochemistry
Background Nasal polyps in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are believed to be phenotypically different than polyps affecting non‐CF patients. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in cell cycle regulatory mechanisms between these 2 groups. In this prospective study at a tertiary care academic medical center, multiple techniques were used to confirm the upregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl‐2 family proteins in CF polyps. Methods Nasal polyps were prospectively obtained from CF and non‐CF patients. The Sigma Panorama Protein Microarray for Cell Signaling was used to identify differences in protein expression between the 2 polyp groups. Western blot analysis confirmed altered expression of a subset of these proteins. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on archived tissue to further investigate B‐cell lymphoma 2 protein (Bcl‐2) expression. Following review by a pathologist, slides were digitized using an Aperio™ ScanScope XT system and staining intensity was quantified with the Positive Pixel Count algorithm. The mean staining intensity for each polyp group was compared. Results The protein microarray suggested a greater than 2‐fold upregulation of Bcl‐xl in CF polyps relative to non‐CF polyps. Western blot analysis confirmed the upregulation in CF polyps of Bcl‐2, a more commonly studied protein analog of Bcl‐xl. The CF polyp group was noted to have a higher quantitative intensity of immunohistochemical staining for Bcl‐2 compared to the non‐CF group ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Through multiple modalities of protein investigation, we have demonstrated an upregulation of Bcl‐2 family proteins in CF polyps relative to polyps from non‐CF patients.