Immunohistochemical analysis of PDK1, PHD3 and HIF-1α expression defines the hypoxic status of neuroblastoma tumors

PLoS One. 2017 Nov 8;12(11):e0187206. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187206. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common solid tumor during infancy and the first cause of death among the preschool age diseases. The availability of several NB genomic profiles improves the prognostic ability, but the outcome prediction for this pathology remains imperfect. We previously produced a novel prognostic gene signature based on the response of NB cells to hypoxia, a condition of tumor microenvironment strictly connected with cancer aggressiveness. Here we attempted to further define the expression of hypoxia-modulated specific genes, looking at their protein level in NB specimens, considering in particular the hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1), and the HIF-prolyl hydroxylase domain 3 (PHD3). The evaluation of expression was performed by Western blot and immunocytochemistry on NB cell lines and by immunohistochemistry on tumor specimens. Stimulation of both HIF-1α and PDK1 and inhibition of PHD3 expression were observed in NB cell lines cultured under prolonged hypoxic conditions as well as in most of the tumors with poor outcome. Our results indicate that the immunohistochemistry analysis of the protein expression of PDK1, PHD3, and HIF-1α defines the hypoxic status of NB tumors and can be used as a simple and relevant tool to stratify high-risk patients.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Cell Hypoxia / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / metabolism*
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-Proline Dioxygenases / metabolism*
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Infant
  • Male
  • N-Myc Proto-Oncogene Protein / metabolism
  • Neuroblastoma / genetics
  • Neuroblastoma / metabolism*
  • Neuroblastoma / pathology*
  • Oxygen / pharmacology
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Acetyl-Transferring Kinase
  • Tumor Microenvironment / drug effects
  • Tumor Microenvironment / genetics

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit
  • MYCN protein, human
  • N-Myc Proto-Oncogene Protein
  • PDK1 protein, human
  • Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Acetyl-Transferring Kinase
  • EGLN3 protein, human
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-Proline Dioxygenases
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Oxygen

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC-IG10565) and by the Associazione Italiana per la Lotta al Neuroblastoma. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.