Análise da expressão dos receptores celulares P2X7 e A2A no tecido de tumores neuroendócrinos hipofisários de pacientes do sul do Brasil

Abstract

Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors (PitNETs), historically known as pituitary adenomas, are neoplasms that, despite being histologically benign, can exhibit aggressive clinical behavior and invasion of adjacent structures. The objective of this study was to analyze the messenger RNA expression of purinergic receptors P2X7 and A2A and the tumor suppressor factor PTEN (Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog) in the tissue of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors from patients in Southern Brazil, correlating them with the degree of invasiveness. This is a quantitative and cross-sectional study in which 19 tumor tissue samples, resected between May 23, 2023 and July 8, 2025, were categorized into low or high degree of invasion based on the Knosp scale. Gene expression of P2X7 (total and isoforms 'a' and 'b'), A2A, and PTEN was quantified using qRT-PCR (2-ΔΔCt method), followed by statistical analysis using the Mann- Whitney test and Pearson correlation, adopting a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the group of PitNETs with a high degree of invasion showed significantly higher mRNA expression of the A2A receptor compared to the low-grade group (p = 0.042). Pearson's analysis revealed a positive and significant correlation between the expression of A2A and P2X7 (r = 0.4823; p = 0.0427). These findings indicate that the immunosuppressive A2A receptor presents a differential expression associated with the invasive behavior of PitNETs and its correlation with P2X7 suggests coordinated action in the tumor microenvironment, encompassing important mechanisms of tumor evasion.