Overexpression of astrocyte-elevated gene-1 is associated with ovarian cancer development and progression

Zhou,Bo; Yang,Jue; Shu,Bin; Liu,Kunmei; Xue,Lezhen; Su,Ning; Liu,Jing; Xi,Tao

doi:10.3892/mmr.2014.3056

Overexpression of astrocyte-elevated gene-1 is associated with ovarian cancer development and progression

Authors:
- Bo Zhou
- Jue Yang
- Bin Shu
- Kunmei Liu
- Lezhen Xue
- Ning Su
- Jing Liu
- Tao Xi
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Affiliations: State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China, Department of Toxicology, Jiangsu Center of Safety Evaluation for Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China, Ningxia Key Laboratory of Cerebrocranial Diseases, School of Laboratory Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750004, P.R. China
Published online on: December 5, 2014 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2014.3056
Pages: 2981-2990

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Abstract

It has previously been reported that astrocyte‑elevated gene‑1 (AEG‑1) has a critical role in the regulation of tumor development, and/or progression. However, the functional significance of AEG‑1 in human ovarian cancer remains unclear. The present study conducted an immunohistochemical analysis of ovarian tissues, and the association between AEG‑1 protein expression, clinicopathological features and outcomes were investigated. The gain or loss of AEG‑1 function was also examined, through exogenous overexpression or knockdown of expression by small interfering RNA, in ovarian cancer cells. Normal ovarian tissue exhibited very little or no AEG‑1 immunoreactivity, whereas high expression levels of AEG‑1 were detected in 12.7% of cystadenomas, 30.0% of borderline tumors, and 71.2% of ovarian carcinomas, respectively, as determined by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analyses demonstrated a significant correlation of AEG‑1 expression with differentiation (P=0.001), lymph node metastasis (P=0.008) and clinical staging (P=0.002). In addition, the overall survival time of patients with higher AEG‑1 expression levels was markedly shorter, as compared with patients with lower expression levels of AEG‑1 (P=0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that AEG‑1 expression was an independent prognostic indicator of the survival of patients with ovarian cancer. Furthermore, exogenous overexpression of AEG‑1 in ovarian cancer cells was shown to significantly enhance cell proliferation, adhesion and invasion. Conversely, silencing AEG‑1 expression caused an inhibition of cell growth, adhesion and invasion. The results of the present study indicate that AEG‑1 is a valuable biomarker for the prediction of ovarian cancer prognosis, and AEG‑1 inhibition may be a potential therapeutic strategy for ovarian cancer treatment.

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