Keywords

Adipokine Localization in Mouse Forestomach; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; IF; IHC; GEO2R

Abstract

Chronic acid reflux results in injury to the esophagus and the development of Barrett’s Esophagus (BE). BE elevates the lifetime risk for a patient to develop Esophageal Adenocarcinoma (EAC). Clinically, one of the main risk factors for BE and EAC is obesity, which alters the secretion of inflammatory cytokines by adipocytes, also referred to as adipokines. Conflicting reports have been made to the expression of adipokines and their receptors in the progression to esophageal cancer. Utilizing an inflammation-based mouse model for BE, we hypothesize that alterations in the expression of adipokines and their receptors favor an inflammatory environment associated with an acceleration in the carcinogenesis of BE. Mice were fed a high fat, 42% adjusted calories from fat, 1.5 g cholesterol/kg (n=8) or low fat (n=7) diet for 16 weeks. Isolated mouse tissues were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and then sectioned and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin for the histological assessment of Barrett’s Esophagus. The expression of the adipokines was determined using immunofluorescent staining and analyzed to characterize the adipokine expression patterns in association with the tissue morphology and across each diet. We found little evidence that a high fat diet significantly affects the progression of BE, but consistent evidence that Adiponectin, Leptin, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 are localized to the squamocolumnar junction in both normal and disease affected mice indicates a possible role in the development of BE and later EAC. Furthermore, we have characterized a temporal change in the expression of the adipokines and their receptors at the RNA level as BE develops to EAC, further exemplifying the role that adipokines play in the etiology of BE. Further understanding of this role may allow for faster and more accurate diagnosis in the clinic, reducing the mortality of patients with EAC.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Andl, Claudia

College

College of Medicine

Department

Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences

Thesis Discipline

Biomedical Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Rights Statement

In Copyright