Search for esophageal adenocarcinoma biomarkers: the role of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans

• Grant number: 10/08152-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2010
• End date: July 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Sérgio Tomaz Schettini
• Grantee: Sérgio Tomaz Schettini
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Helena Bonciani Nader ; Juliana Luporini Dreyfuss Regatieri ; Pedro Luiz de Brito

Abstract

The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma is progressively increasing in many parts of the world and the presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease is the most important factor associated to this neoplasia. The gastroesophageal reflux produces in around 10% of the cases a metaplastic transformation of the esophageal epithelium called Barrett's esophagus that is considered pre malignant lesion. Proteoglycans (PGs) and glycosaminoglyicans (GAGs) are components of the cellular surface and the extracellular matrix that are involved in cell growth and differentiation playing important role in neoplastic transformation. These characteristics indicate proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans as potential prognostic factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma and biomarkers for the risk of malignization of the Barrett's esophagus, besides their use as new therapeutic approach. An experimental model of gastroesophageal reflux in rats will be performed in order to establish a correlation between the histopathological findings up to the adenocarcinoma development and the expression of the proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans in the esophagus in differents stages of this pathological process. (AU)