title: HOTAIR role in melanoma progression and its identification in the blood of patients with advanced disease.
abstract: The molecular mechanisms responsible for the metastatic progression of melanoma have not been fully defined yet. We have recently shown that an important role in this process is certainly played by HOX genes, whose regulation is under control of particular non-coding RNAs, some of which are present within the HOX locus. HOTAIR is the most studied among them, whose aberrant expression is associated with the metastatic progression of many malignancies. The aim of this study was to verify the role played by HOTAIR in metastatic progression of melanoma and to evaluate the circulating levels of HOTAIR in the blood of patients with metastatic melanoma. A series of melanocytic lesions were selected to evaluate the potential changes in the expression of HOTAIR during the evolution of the disease through in situ and molecular approaches. None of the benign melanocytic lesions showed the presence of HOTAIR. The staining of HOTAIR resulted very weak in the primary pT1 lesions, while it was very strong in all pairs of primary tissues and corresponding metastases. Surprisingly, we found the presence of HOTAIR in some intratumoral lymphocytes, while this positivity decreased in lymphocyte component further away from the tumor. HOTAIR was also detected in the serum of selected metastatic patients. These data allowed us to speculate on the fundamental role played by HOTAIR in tumor evolution of melanoma. Its presence in intratumoral lymphocytes might suggest that its involvement in the modulation of tumor microenvironment and the detection in the serum could be used in the management of melanoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cantile
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Giosuè
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scognamiglio
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aquino
authors.affiliation: Unit of Melanoma, Cancer Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapy, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botti
authors.affiliation: Unit of Melanoma, Cancer Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapy, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Falcone
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Gabriella
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Malzone
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Bonito
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Pathology Unit, University of Naples SUN, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Unit of Melanoma, Cancer Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapy, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo Antonio
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ascierto
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione "G. Pascale", Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Botti
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C561566:HOTAIR long untranslated RNA, human; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding
keywords: HOTAIR; circulating markers; lncRNA; melanoma progression; tumor microenvironment