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Updated: Feb 11, 2026
Generation and Expansion of Primary, Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Tumor Lines
Published on: April 21, 2022
MiR-21 over-expression and Programmed Cell Death 4 down-regulation features malignant pleural mesothelioma
Lorenzo Nicolè1, Rocco Cappellesso1, Tiziana Sanavia2
1Department of Medicine, Surgical Pathology & Cytopathology Unit, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Background:
Differential diagnosis between malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and benign mesothelial conditions is still challenging and there is a lack of useful markers. Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is a well-known tumor suppressor gene in several cancers, its post-transcriptional activity is directly controlled by miR-21, whose over-expression has been recently reported in MPM compared to normal mesothelium. Aim of this study was to test this suppressor gene as a possible new marker of malignant transformation in mesothelial cells, as well as a new prognostic marker.
Methods:
PDCD4 nuclear expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 40 non-neoplastic pleural (NNP) and 40 MPM formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. PDCD4 and miR-21 expressions were analyzed by qRT-PCR in all cases. In situ hybridization (ISH) of miR-21 was performed in 5 representative cases of both groups. The prognostic relevance of PDCD4 was assessed in a public available gene expression dataset.
Results:
IHC showed that PDCD4 nuclear expression was significantly lower in MPM than in NNP. PDCD4 was down-regulated, whereas miR-21 was over-expressed in MPM cases compared to NNP ones. ISH detected miR-21 only in MPM specimens. Down-expression of PDCD4 was found significantly associated with short overall survival in publicly available data.
Conclusions:
These findings highlighted a switch between PDCD4 and miR-21 expression in MPM. Further studies should assess the diagnostic reliability of these two markers for MPM in biopsy and effusion specimens.
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