The Activity And Tissue Distribution Of Thioredoxin Reductase In Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most prevalent dermal tumor in Caucasians. Different mechanismsare proposed to be involved in its pathogenesis such as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress, which isthe consequence of the disruption of redox balance in favor of oxidants, is involved in the initiationor progression of many tumors. Thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) is a key enzyme of the thioredoxin(Trx) system, containing Trx and TrxR and NADPH, which is one of the main cellularoxidoreductases with an essential role in cellular health and survival through providing andmaintaining redox balance. Therefore, we aimed to study and compare the activity and tissuedistribution of TrxR in tumoral tissue and its healthy margin in patients with BCC. After biopsy andtaking samples from 20 patients, TrxR activity was measured using a commercial kit and its tissuedistribution was assessed immunohistochemically. Both the activity and tissue distribution of TrxRin tumoral tissues were significantly higher compared to their healthy margins. Based on thisresults, it is concluded that TrxR is involved in pathogenesis of BCC; however, more investigationsare required to clarify whether this increase is a consequence of BCC or it is an initiatingmechanism.