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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Cancer Endocrinology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1397839
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Targeted Therapy and Biomarker Research for Endocrine-Related Cancers View all 10 articles

Functional analysis of fibroblasts and macrophages in head and neck paragangliomas

Provisionally accepted
Paramita Baruah Paramita Baruah 1,2*Jennifer Marshall Jennifer Marshall 1Meriam Nefla Meriam Nefla 1Valentina Pucino Valentina Pucino 1Holly Adams Holly Adams 1Jason D. Turner Jason D. Turner 1Peter Monksfield Peter Monksfield 3Richard M. Irving Richard M. Irving 3Adam Croft Adam Croft 1Ingrid E. Dumitriu Ingrid E. Dumitriu 1Christopher Buckley Christopher Buckley 1,4
  • 1 University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
  • 2 University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, United Kingdom
  • 3 University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • 4 University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background and aim: Head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGN) are tumours that carry significant morbidity The role of the stroma in the pathogenesis of HNPGN is not completely understood. This study explores the profile of fibroblasts and macrophages in HNPGN.Ten patients undergoing HNPGN surgery were recruited. CD68 and CD163 immunohistochemistry was performed for macrophage analysis; CD90 and podoplanin (PDPN) expression was examined to identify fibroblasts. RT-qPCR was performed on HNPGN tissue for macrophage-and fibroblast-associated molecules. Fibroblast cultures were established from HNPGN were analyzed by RT-qPCR and flowcytometry. Confocal microscopy for MCT1 and MCT4 was performed in HNPGN. Results: CD68 and CD163 expressing macrophages were noted in HNPGN. CD90 and PDPN expressing cells were present in HNPGN. RT-qPCR analysis showed expression of phenotypic and functional macrophage-and fibroblast-associated molecules in HNPGN. RT-qPCR analysis of fibroblasts cultured from HNPGN confirmed the expression of several molecules including PDPN at comparable levels to healthy tissue fibroblasts. Expression of FAP, MCT-1, insulin receptor (CD220) and insulin growth factor receptor-2 (CD222) was noted on HNPGN derived fibroblasts on flowcytometry. MCT1 and MCT4 were expressed in HNPGN tumour cells and stromal macrophages in-situ. Conclusion: Fibroblasts and macrophages are present in the HNPGN tumour microenvironment, and several macrophage and fibroblast functional markers are expressed in HNPGN. Macrophages in HNPGN tissue express metabolic markers MCT1 and MCT4. Further analysis of the fibroblast and macrophage function in HNPGN will improve our understanding of their potential roles in tumour pathogenesis.

    Keywords: Fibroblasts, Macrophages, head and neck paraganglioma, CD90, CD163, mct1, MCT4

    Received: 08 Mar 2024; Accepted: 29 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Baruah, Marshall, Nefla, Pucino, Adams, Turner, Monksfield, Irving, Croft, Dumitriu and Buckley. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Paramita Baruah, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, England, United Kingdom

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