Salivary concentration of growth factors and their receptor expression in laryngeal and esophageal mucosa from subjects with Sjögren's syndrome and laryngopharyngeal reflux

• Grant number: 12/10690-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Ivo Bussoloti Filho
• Grantee: Ivo Bussoloti Filho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP). Fundação Arnaldo Vieira de Carvalho. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Claudia Alessandra Eckley

Abstract

Saliva is one of the most important components for the digestive homeostasis. The salivary Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and Transforming Growth Factor-alpha(TGF-alpha) induce fast mucosal regeneration after injury when bonded to Epidermal Growth Factor-receptor(EGFr) present in mucosa. Recent studies have shown that patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux(LPR) and gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD) have lower salivary levels of EGF, suggesting that this deficiency could increase their susceptibility. When studying subjects with Sjögren´s syndrome(SS), a potential clinical research model for xerostomia, and its laryngeal and pharyngeal consequences, the incidence of LPR was 100%. However, salivary EGF concentrations were similar to healthy subjects, suggesting that LPR physiopathology in those subjects could be different from non-xerostomic cases. Moreover, there is unknown how EGFr mucosal expression could interfere in the incidence of LPR among SS patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the salivary concentrations of EGF, TGF-alpha and the EGFr expression in laryngeal and esophageal mucosa from subjects with LPR+SS. A total of 40 patients with primary or secondary SS plus LPR will be compared to 25 healthy volunteers. SS diagnosis will be established based on the classification criteria from the 2002 American European consensus. LPR diagnosis will be based on laryngopharyngeal symptoms and endoscopic findings, upper digestive endoscopy findings and double-probe 24-hour esophageal pH-study. EGF and TGF-alpha salivary concentration will be obtained through ELISA method. EGFr expression will be measured through immunohistochemistry method from laryngeal and esophageal biopsies. (AU)