Effect of Piezo1 Overexpression on Peritumoral Brain Edema in Glioblastomas

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous studies have suggested that increased mortality and disability in patients with brain tumor are associated with peritumoral brain edema. However, the mechanism of peritumoral brain edema in brain tumors is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Piezo1 overexpression on peritumoral brain edema in glioblastomas.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Piezo1 expression in cell lines and paired samples was detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Sixty-four patients with glioblastomas were analyzed retrospectively. The Piezo1 expression of tumor tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. The diameters of tumor and edema were measured by preoperative MR imaging, and the edema index value was calculated.

RESULTS: Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that Piezo1 expression was higher in 6 glioma cell lines than in the normal astrocyte cell line. Compared with peritumoral tissues, Piezo1 was up-regulated in tumor tissues. Sixty-four patients with glioblastomas were enrolled in further study. Piezo1 was higher in the moderate edema group than in the mild edema group (P < .001), higher in the severe edema group than in the moderate edema group (P < .001), and correlated with the edema index (r = 0.73; P < .001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the edema index yielded an area under the curve of 0.867 (95% CI, 0.76–0.97; P < .001), with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 70%.

CONCLUSIONS: Piezo1 overexpression is positively correlated with the degree of peritumoral brain edema in glioblastomas. Predicting high Piezo1 expression in tumor tissues based on the edema extent shows good sensitivity and specificity.