Academic Journal
Immunohistochemical evaluation of apelin and VEGF expression in cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas.
| Τίτλος: | Immunohistochemical evaluation of apelin and VEGF expression in cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Çalişkan Burgucu H; Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Konya City Hospital, Konya, Turkey. htcbrgc81@gmail.com., Günler T; Department of Pathology, Konya City Hospital, Konya, Turkey., Ömeroğlu E; Department of Pathology, University of Health Sciences, Konya City Hospital, Konya, Turkey., Ünlü Y; Department of Pathology, University of Health Sciences, Konya City Hospital, Konya, Turkey., Aksu O; Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Konya City Hospital, Konya, Turkey. |
| Πηγή: | BMC endocrine disorders [BMC Endocr Disord] 2026 Sep 16; Vol. 26 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Sep 16. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101088676 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1472-6823 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14726823 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Endocr Disord Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Apelin*/metabolism , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*/metabolism , Adrenocortical Adenoma*/metabolism , Adrenocortical Adenoma*/pathology , Adrenocortical Adenoma*/complications , Hydrocortisone*/metabolism , Cushing Syndrome*/metabolism , Cushing Syndrome*/pathology , Cushing Syndrome*/etiology , Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms*/metabolism , Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms*/pathology , Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms*/complications , Adrenal Gland Neoplasms*/metabolism , Adrenal Gland Neoplasms*/pathology, Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism ; Adrenal Cortex/metabolism ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Immunohistochemistry ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Prognosis ; Follow-Up Studies |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: In this study, we aimed to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of apelin in tissue samples obtained from patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) due to cortisol-producing adrenal adenoma (CPA) and to compare these findings with normal adrenal cortex tissue. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the association of apelin expression with clinical, hormonal, and histopathological parameters. The expression profile of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was also assessed to explore potential angiogenic interactions. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study included 11 patients diagnosed with CPA and 15 control subjects with histologically normal adrenal cortex tissue. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for apelin and VEGF. Immunohistochemical evaluation was performed by assessing staining intensity and the percentage of positively stained cells. An immunoreactivity score (IRS) was calculated by combining these parameters to provide a semi-quantitative measure of protein expression. Results: Apelin staining intensity was significantly higher in CPA tissues compared with controls (p = 0.026), whereas the percentage of apelin-positive cells and IRS values did not differ significantly between groups. In an exploratory ROC analysis, apelin staining intensity showed moderate discrimination between CPA and control adrenal cortex tissues (AUC = 0.776, 95% CI: 0.581-0.971, p = 0.018). In bias-reduced univariable logistic regression, apelin staining intensity was associated with CPA (OR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.02-8.60, p = 0.046), although the wide confidence interval indicated considerable uncertainty. VEGF staining parameters did not differ significantly between CPA and control tissues. No statistically significant correlations could be demonstrated between apelin or VEGF IRS and the evaluated clinicopathological or hormonal parameters. Conclusion: Apelin staining intensity was higher in CPA than in normal adrenal cortex, whereas the proportion of apelin-positive cells and IRS did not differ significantly between groups. VEGF staining parameters also did not differ significantly between CPA and control tissues. These findings suggest altered apelin immunoreactivity in CPA; however, given the exploratory nature and small sample size of the study, larger studies are required to confirm these observations and clarify their biological significance. Clinical Trial Number: Not applicable. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Konya City Hospital (Approval No. 2025/116). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). Consent to participate: The requirement for individual informed consent was waived by the ethics committee due to the retrospective nature of the study and the use of fully anonymized data. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Angiogenesis; Apelin; Cortisol-producing adrenal adenoma; Cushing’s syndrome; Immunohistochemistry; Vascular endothelial growth factor |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Apelin) 0 (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A) WI4X0X7BPJ (Hydrocortisone) 0 (VEGFA protein, human) 0 (Biomarkers, Tumor) 0 (APLN protein, human) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260916 Date Completed: 20260917 Latest Revision: 20260918 |
| Update Code: | 20260918 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13579810 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12902-026-02563-w |
| PMID: | 42750037 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1472-6823 |
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| DOI: | 10.1186/s12902-026-02563-w |