Immunohistochemical Expression of Serine and Arginine-Rich Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) in Fluoro-Edenite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: A Preliminary Study

Our plain-English summary of Immunohistochemical Expression of Serine and Arginine-Rich Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) in Fluoro-Edenite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: A Preliminary Study, by G. Broggi, G. Angelico, V. Filetti, et al (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021).

The study

• Authors: G. Broggi, G. Angelico, V. Filetti, C. Ledda, C. Lombardo, E. Vitale, V. Rapisarda, C. Loreto, R. Caltabiano
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Published: 2021;18(12)
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Unlabelled: The Serine and Arginine-Rich Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) has a proto-oncogenic function, being associated with angiogenesis and frequently overexpressed in many human malignant neoplasms. Its immunohistochemical expression has never been investigated in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We evaluated SRSF1 immunoexpression and its possible relation to angiogenesis in a selected cohort of 10 fluoro-edenite(FE)-induced MPM cases.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analyses with an anti-SRSF1 antibody were performed. We interpreted the cases as positive if tumor cell nuclei were stained; a semi-quantitative analysis of the cases was performed by evaluating the intensity of staining and the percentage of tumor positive cells. A microvessel density (MVD) count was also performed.

Results: High and low immunoexpressions of SRSF1 were seen in six and four MPMs, respectively. A trend of shorter overall survival was found in FE-induced MPM patients with SRSF1 overexpression. In addition, a significant association between high-MVD and high SRSF1 immunoexpression (p = 0.0476) was found.

Conclusions: SRSF1 appears to be involved in MPM pathogenesis and its immunoexpression may represent a prognostic biomarker capable of identifying subgroups of patients with different prognosis. However, given the preliminary nature of the present study, further investigations on larger series, and additional in vitro studies, are required to validate our findings.

In plain English

This preliminary study examined tumor tissue from people with malignant pleural mesothelioma who lived in Biancavilla, Sicily, and showed evidence of environmental exposure to fluoro-edenite, a fiber the article describes as asbestos-like. Of 49 surgically treated patients from 1996 to 2014, ten had enough biopsy tissue and follow-up data. They were six men and four women with a mean age of 68.4 years. The authors stained the tissue for a protein called SRSF1 and counted small blood vessels (microvessel density). Six of the ten tumors showed high SRSF1 and four showed low SRSF1. Patients with high SRSF1 had shorter reported survival (9.75 months) than those with low SRSF1 (27.5 months), but this survival difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.0563). Five of the six high-SRSF1 tumors had high vessel density, and all four low-SRSF1 tumors had low vessel density. This association was statistically significant (p = 0.0476). The authors concluded that SRSF1 appears to be involved in mesothelioma and may help predict outcome. They said that, because the study was preliminary, larger studies and laboratory cell studies are needed.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Retrospective immunohistochemical (tissue staining) study of archived tumor biopsies, described by the authors as preliminary
• Who was studied: 10 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, residents of Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy), selected from 49 surgically treated patients between 1996 and 2014 because they had adequate thoracoscopic biopsy tissue and follow-up data; six men and four women, mean age 68.4 years (range 50 to 93); six epithelioid, one sarcomatoid and three biphasic tumors
• Exposure: Environmental exposure to fluoro-edenite (FE) fibers among residents of Biancavilla; no doses or individual exposure measurements are given
• Main results:
  • High SRSF1 staining was found in 6 of the 10 mesotheliomas (60%) and low staining in 4 (40%)
  • Survival did not differ significantly between the high-SRSF1 and low-SRSF1 groups (p = 0.0563)
  • The reported hazard ratio for survival comparing SRSF1 groups was 0.2461, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.05833 to 1.038
  • Overall survival was 9.75 months in patients with high SRSF1 and 27.5 months in patients with low SRSF1. The article calls these means, but its own Table 1 gives them as the medians of the two groups
  • No significant relationship was found between SRSF1 and age, sex or mesothelioma subtype
  • High SRSF1 was significantly associated with high microvessel density (Fisher exact test, p = 0.0476). Five of the 6 high-SRSF1 cases had high microvessel density, and all 4 low-SRSF1 cases had low microvessel density
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that SRSF1 is involved in the development of malignant pleural mesothelioma and that its staining may be a prognostic biomarker separating patients with better and worse outcomes, and that further studies on larger series are needed
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors described the study as preliminary and said that larger series and additional in vitro (laboratory cell) studies are required to validate the findings

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: fluoro-edenite, Malignant Mesothelioma, Angiogenesis, Neoplasm, Pleural Mesothelioma, Overall Survival, Biomarker, Prognosis.

Related studies

• Immunohistochemical Expression of Aquaporin-1 in Fluoro-Edenite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: A Preliminary Report — G. Angelico, R. Caltabiano, et al. (2018)
• Fibulin-3 immunoexpression in malignant mesothelioma due to fluoro-edenite: a preliminary report — R. Caltabiano, C. Loreto, et al. (2018)
• Pleural mesothelioma from fluoro-edenite exposure: PACAP and PAC1 receptor. A preliminary report — C. Lombardo, G. Maugeri, et al. (2024)
• Immunohistochemical expression of retinoblastoma and phospho-retinoblastoma protein in sheep lung exposed to fluoro-edenite fibers — G. Musumeci, C. Loreto, et al. (2010)
• Splicing factor SRSF6 mediates pleural fibrosis — L.M. Liang, L. Xiong, et al. (2021)
• Mineral fibre toxicity: expression of retinoblastoma (Rb) and phospho-retinoblastoma (pRb) protein in alveolar epithelial and mesothelial cell lines exposed to fluoro-edenite fibres — G. Musumeci, V. Cardile, et al. (2011)

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