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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ERC-09-0101v1 16/4/1329    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dworakowska, D Articles by Grossman, A B Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dworakowska, D Articles by Grossman, A B

¹ Barts and the London School of Medicine, Centre for Endocrinology, London, UK
² Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gdask, 3 Sklodowskiej-Curie Street, Gdask, Poland
³ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Meram School of Medicine, Selcuk University, Meram, Konya, Turkey
⁴ Internal Medicine, National Health Center, Budapest, Hungary
⁵ Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah Tiqwa, Israel

(Correspondence should be addressed to A B Grossman, Department of Endocrinology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, 5th Floor, King George V Building, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE, UK; Email: a.b.grossman{at}qmul.ac.uk)

^* (D Dworakowska and E Wlodek contributed equally to this work)

Raf/MEK/ERK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) cascades are key signalling pathways interacting with each other to regulate cell growth and tumourigenesis. We have previously shown B-Raf and Akt overexpression and/or overactivation in pituitary adenomas. The aim of this study is to assess the expression of their downstream components (MEK1/2, ERK1/2, mTOR, TSC2, p70S6K) and effectors (c-MYC and CYCLIN D1). We studied tissue from 16 non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs), six GH-omas, six prolactinomas and six ACTH-omas, all collected at transsphenoidal surgery; 16 normal autopsy pituitaries were used as controls. The expression of phospho and total protein was assessed with western immunoblotting, and the mRNA expression with quantitative RT-PCR. The expression of pSer217/221 MEK1/2 and pThr183 ERK1/2 (but not total MEK1/2 or ERK1/2) was significantly higher in all tumour subtypes in comparison to normal pituitaries. There was no difference in the expression of phosphorylated/total mTOR, TSC2 or p70S6K between pituitary adenomas and controls. Neither c-MYC phosphorylation at Ser 62 nor total c-MYC was changed in the tumours. However, c-MYC phosphorylation at Thr58/Ser62 (a response target for Akt) was decreased in all tumour types. CYCLIN D1 expression was higher only in NFPAs. The mRNA expression of MEK1, MEK2, ERK1, ERK2, c-MYC and CCND1 was similar in all groups. Our data indicate that in pituitary adenomas both the Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways are upregulated in their initial cascade, implicating a pro-proliferative signal derangement upstream to their point of convergence. However, we speculate that other processes, such as senescence, attenuate the changes downstream in these benign tumours.