title: Angiopoietin-2 is expressed in oral Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) persists today as a highly prevalent vascular cancer, often found in HIV patients. Studies have shown that angiopoietin 2 (Ang2), a pro-angiogenic protein, is involved in the pathogenesis of this tumor. However, expression of this protein has not been investigated in oral KS lesions. Thus, we aimed to investigate the expression of Ang2 in samples of oral KS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate Ang2 expression in 14 oral KS cases, with degrees of expression being analyzed in a semi-quantitative manner. In addition, clinical information such as age, gender, race, tumor location, size, color, and appearance, as well as HIV status, was collected and included in the analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients were white males, mostly HIV-positive, with a mean age of 40 years. Clinically, the lesions were dark red/blue/purple masses, ranging from 1 to 2.5 cm in diameter, found in various locations such as the tongue, palate, and gingiva. Expression of Ang2 was noted in 72% (10/14) of the samples. Of these, 10% showed weak expression, 60% moderate, and 30% strong expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that Ang2 is expressed in oral KS and, consistent with results from previous studies, show that Ang2 may contribute to the pathogenesis of this lesion.
authors.affiliation: College of Dental Medicine - Illinois, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Pathology and Medicine, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: College of Dental Medicine - Illinois, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuevas-Nunez
authors.affiliation: TAMU Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alfredo M B
authors.initials: AMB
authors.lastname: De-Paula
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Dental School, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Basile
authors.affiliation: College of Dental Medicine - Illinois, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Bruno C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6123-0174
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Jham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C586513:ANGPT2 protein, human; D042702:Angiopoietin-2
keywords: Kaposi's sarcoma; angiogenesis; angiopoietin-2; oral