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PAQR3 expression predicted prognosis in gastric cancer
The expression level of PAQR3 was negatively correlated with survival and was frequently down-regulated in patients with gastric cancer, according to study results.
Researchers sought to evaluate the association between the expression of PAQR3 — a protein localized in the Golgi apparatus — and gastric cancer progression, metastasis and survival. They used gastric cancer samples from 300 patients and compared them with para-cancerous histological normal tissues at mRNA and protein levels.
Overall, mRNA and protein levels of PAQR3 were significantly down-regulated in gastric cancer samples compared with para-cancerous histological normal tissues (P˂.0001 for both).
PAQR3 expression levels were negatively correlated with Helicobacter pylori infection, tumor size and stage, venous and lymphatic invasion, distant and nodal metastasis, and patient survival (P˂.0001 for all).
Researchers observed a strong correlation between down-regulated PAQR3 and increased epithelial-mesenchymal transition, whereas PAQR3 overexpression negatively modulated cell proliferation, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells.
“PAQR3 is markedly down-regulated in human gastric cancers,” the researchers concluded. “PAQR3 expression level is closely associated with the progression and metastasis of gastric cancers. PAQR3 is a new genetic signature that can predict the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.”
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of the researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.