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. 2019 Jun 11:9:430.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2019.00430. eCollection 2019.

Identification of Novel Predictive Biomarkers for Endometrial Malignancies: N-Acylethanolamines

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Identification of Novel Predictive Biomarkers for Endometrial Malignancies: N-Acylethanolamines

Thangesweran Ayakannu et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Objective: To identify new biochemical markers for endometrial cancer (EC). Recent evidence suggests that members of the endocannabinoid system (N-acylethanolamines) that bind to and activate receptors that are dysregulated in EC are involved in this tumour's biology. These observations suggest increased N-acylethanolamine levels in the tissue that might appear in plasma and could be used as disease biomarkers. Methods: N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA) and the N-acylethanolamine substances, N-oleoylethanolamine (OEA), and N-palmitoylethanolamine (PEA) were quantified in plasma and endometrial tissue collected from 31 EC and seven atrophic controls using UHPLC-MS/MS. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) and logistic regression were used to determine diagnostic accuracy. Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and 2 (CB2) protein levels were determined by specific immunohistochemistry and histomorphometric analyses. Correlations between plasma and tissue levels of the three N-acylethanolamines and tissue levels of the three N-acylethanolamines and CB1 and CB2 receptor expression levels were determined using correlation analysis. Results: Plasma and tissue AEA and PEA levels were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in EC than controls whilst OEA levels were significantly elevated in type 1 EC tissues but not in plasma. There were significant positive correlations between plasma and tissue levels of AEA (R 2 = 0.302, p = 0.008) and PEA (R 2 = 0.182, p = 0.047), but not for OEA (R 2 = 0.022, p = 0.506). The diagnostic accuracies for EC were: sensitivity of 53.3%, specificity of 100% for plasma AEA (>1.36 nM); sensitivity of 73.3%, specificity of 100% for plasma PEA (>27.5 nM); and sensitivity of 93.3%, specificity of 28.6% for plasma OEA (>4.97 nM). Logistic regression increased the area under the ROC curve (AUC) from 0.781 for AEA, 0.857 for PEA, and 0.543 for OEA to a combined AUC of 0.933 for EC diagnosis. Significant inverse correlations between tissue AEA (R 2 = 0.343, p = 0.003) and PEA (R 2 = 0.384, p < 0.0001) levels and CB1 expression were observed. No correlation between tissue levels of OEA and CB1 and tissue levels of any of the three N-acylethanolamines and CB2 protein expression were observed, except in the type 1 EC patients. Conclusion: Since plasma AEA and PEA are significantly elevated in patients with EC and a reflection of production by the endometrial tumour, then these lipids have the potential to be useful biomarkers for the early diagnosis of EC.

Keywords: anandamide; biomarker; endocannabinoid; endometrial cancer; prediction.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation curves showing the relationships between tissue levels of AEA, PEA, and OEA with plasma concentrations. The relationships between plasma concentrations and tissue levels (n = 22) of AEA (A), PEA (B), and OEA (C) are shown. The indicated R2 and p-values were obtained using Spearman correlation analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation between tissue levels of AEA, PEA, and OEA with tissue protein expression levels. The relationships between tissue levels of AEA and CB1 or CB2 protein (A,D), tissue levels of PEA and CB1 and CB2 protein (B,E) and OEA and CB1 or CB2 protein (C,F) are shown. The data for atrophic controls (n = 6) are shown by filled circles and those for the EC patients (n = 28; 24 Type 1 and 4 type 2 EC) by open circles. The indicated R2 and p-values were obtained using Pearson correlation analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ROC analyses for AEA and PEA. The upper panels show the ROC analyses for AEA (Left) and PEA (Right) for the diagnosis of EC, using a cut-off plasma concentration of 1.36 nM for AEA and 27.5 nM for PEA. The data also show the sensitivity and specificity values for these biomarkers together with the value for the area under the ROC curve and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). The lower panels show similar analyses, but for the comparison of EC grade 1 tumour patients only compared to the controls. In this case, the cut-off plasma concentration remained at 1.36 nM for AEA and changed to 23.8 nM for PEA.

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