title: Akt activation correlates with the tumor aggressiveness in Tunisian patients with bladder cancer.
abstract: Various studies in western countries found Akt amplification to be a frequent event in human cancers, including bladder, but the correlation with clinicopathological features is controversial. Such studies have not been reported in African populations, including Tunisians. The purpose of this study was to assess expression of the phosphorylated/activated forms of Akt in tumors from Tunisian patients with bladder cancer and to correlate its expression with pathological and clinical parameters of the disease. The study included 72 patients of whom 34 were diagnosed as low- to medium-grade and 35 as high-grade; 30 were muscle stage and 39 non-muscle stage. Primary tumors from these patients, normal adjacent tissues, or bladder cancer cell-lines were analyzed for Ser473 phosphorylated Akt expression by Western blot. Seventy-two percent of primary tumors from patients with bladder cancer had increased levels of p-Akt. The p-Akt levels in patients with high-grade bladder cancer were significantly elevated compared to patients with low- or medium-grade bladder cancer. In invasive carcinoma, the p-Akt level was significantly higher than in superficial non-invasive bladder tumors. Concerning the influence of tobacco on Akt activation, no significant differences of p-Akt expression were found between non-smoker and smoker patients. Altogether, our results suggest that Akt activation can provide useful prognostic information and that tobacco represents a serious risk factor for recurrence in a cohort of Tunisian patients.
authors.affiliation: EPHE, Laboratoire d'Immunologie et Immunothérapie des Cancers, Paris, F-75014, France.|EA 7269, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, F-21079, Dijon, France.|Laboratoire de Génétique, Immunologie et Pathologies Humaines, Faculté de Sciences Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Islem
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ben Bahria-Sediki
authors.affiliation: EPHE, Laboratoire d'Immunologie et Immunothérapie des Cancers, Paris, F-75014, France.|EA 7269, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, F-21079, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Charles Nicolle de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chebil
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Charles Nicolle de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cherif
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Charles Nicolle de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Rachida
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zermani
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Charles Nicolle de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Soumaya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rammeh
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique, Immunologie et Pathologies Humaines, Faculté de Sciences Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia. amel.benammarelgaaied@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Amel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben Ammar El Gaaied
authors.affiliation: EPHE, Laboratoire d'Immunologie et Immunothérapie des Cancers, Paris, F-75014, France. ali.bettaieb@u-bourgogne.fr.|EA 7269, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, F-21079, Dijon, France. ali.bettaieb@u-bourgogne.fr.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bettaieb
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011379:Prognosis; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
keywords: Akt; Bladder carcinoma; Prognosis; Tobacco