title: Immunohistochemical expression of sulfhydryl oxidase (QSOX1) in pediatric medulloblastomas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medulloblastoma is a malignant, invasive embryonal tumor of the cerebellum and accounts for 20% of intracranial tumors in children. QSOX1, whose functions include formation of disulphide bridges, which are needed for correct protein folding and stability, formation of the extracellular matrix, regulation of the redox status and cell cycle control, appears to be involved in apoptosis in pathological states such as cancer. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of QSOX1 in medulloblastomas and nonneoplastic cerebellum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Histology blocks of pediatric medulloblastomas were separated and two representative areas of the tumors and non-neoplastic cerebellum samples were used to construct tissue microarrays (TMAs) that were stained with an anti-QSOX1 antibody, and the slides were read using image analysis software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  QSOX1 immunoexpression was observed in the non-neoplastic cerebellum samples and the medulloblastoma samples. There was no statistically significant relationship between QSOX1 immunopositivity in the medulloblastoma samples and the clinical and pathological variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although QSOX1 did not prove useful for stratifying patients into risk groups, tumor cells and the fibrillar extracellular matrix were positive for this marker, indicating that this enzyme may be involved in the pathogenesis of medulloblastoma.
  The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1822040654139436.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. ana-sobral@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina Lira
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sobral
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. victor.m.n@bol.com.br.
authors.forename: Victor Moreschi
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. gabrielatraiano@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Traiano
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Pathology and Department of Medical Pathology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. appercicote@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Percicote
authors.affiliation: Head of the Anatomic Pathology Service at the Pequeno Príncipe Hospital, Curitiba, Brazil. elizabeth@gugelmin.com.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Schneider
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Gugelmin
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. cleberius@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cleber Machado
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Pathology and Department of Medical Pathology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. lia.nakao@ufpr.br.
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nakao
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Pathology and Department of Medical Pathology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. bleggi@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Luiz Fernando Bleggi
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. lnno@terra.com.br.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Noronha
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D007223:Infant; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors; C117183:QSOX1 protein, human