High expression of TACC3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma correlates with poor prognosis

// Zhi-Liang Huang 1, 2, * , Zhi-Rui Lin 1, * , Yi-Ren Xiao 3 , Xun Cao 1, 4 , Lin-Chun Zhu 1, 2 , Mu-Sheng Zeng 1 , Qian Zhong 1 , Zhe-Sheng Wen 1, 2 1 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China 2 Department of Thoracic Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 3 South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China 4 Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Qian Zhong, e-mail: zhongqian@sysucc.org.cn Zhe-Sheng Wen, e-mail: wenzhsh@sysucc.org.cn Keywords: TACC3, Esophageal squamous carcinoma (ESCC), prognostic biomarker, immunohistochemistry Received: December 04, 2014      Accepted: January 23, 2015      Published: February 10, 2015 ABSTRACT To analyze the expression of the transforming acidic coiled-coil protein 3 (TACC3) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) samples, and to identify whether TACC3 can serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of ESCC, qPCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry staining (IHC) were utilized to detect the expression of TACC3. Furthermore, cell growth, colony formation, migration ability and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers of ESCC cells in which TACC3 were knocked-down were measured. The mRNA and protein levels of TACC3 were higher in ESCC specimens compared to non-tumorous esophageal epithelial tissues. IHC results revealed TACC3 expression was significantly correlated to differentiation ( p = 0.017) and lymphoid nodal status ( p = 0.028). The patients with high-expression of TACC3 had a significantly poor prognosis compared to those of low-expression ( p = 0.017), especially in the patients at stages I–II ( p = 0.028). Multivariate analysis indicated that TACC3 expression was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients ( p = 0.025). Knockdown of TACC3 inhibited the ability of cell proliferation, colony formation and migration. This study first identifies TACC3 not only as a useful biomarker for diagnose and prognosis of ESCC, but also as a potential therapeutic target for patients with ESCC.