Background:Transforming growth factor beta (TGFß) is involved in a variety of important cellular functions. The lack of TGFß-dependent cell-growth control might be related to oncogenesis, as it has been shown in lung, breast, and colon carcinomas. Current observations have revealed that TGFß is rather an inhibiting, not a stimulating, factor as far as malignant tumor development is concerned. Recently, however, there has been a growing number of reports on increased expression of TGFß genes in certain tumors. In patients with a diagnosis of non-small-cell lung carcinoma, the tumors expressing high levels of TGFß were the ones that had a higher proliferation and metastasis capability, whereas more promising were the cases with lower levels of TGFß expression.Material/Methods: A pilot study of 14 patients was conducted comprising 8 patients with a low-grade lymphoma and 6 patients with a high-grade lymphoma. The QRT-PCR method was employed to assess the activity of TGFß1 and of its receptor types I, II, and III.Results: The expression values for TGFß1 and its receptors I, II, and III were twice as high in the group of patients with a diagnosis of high-grade lymphomas as in the group of patients diagnosed with low-grade lymphomas.Conclusions: Results showed a clear difference in TGFß1 expression in patients with NHL depending on the subtype of the lymphoma, suggesting its significant role in the pathomechanism of this group of malignant diseases as well as its potential value as a prognostic factor.

Keywords: Activin Receptors, Type I - genetics, Base Sequence, DNA Primers - genetics, Lymphoma, High-Grade - genetics, Lymphoma, High-Grade - immunology, Lymphoma, Low-Grade - genetics, Lymphoma, Low-Grade - immunology, Pilot Projects, Proteoglycans - genetics, RNA, Messenger - genetics, RNA, Messenger - metabolism, Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics, Activin Receptors, Type I - genetics, Base Sequence, DNA Primers - genetics, Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - immunology, Pilot Projects, Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases, Proteoglycans - genetics, RNA, Messenger - metabolism, Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics