High level of αB-crystallin contributes to the progression of osteosarcoma

// Qing-Ming Shi 1,* , Jun Luo 1,* , Kai Wu 1,* , Ming Yin 1 , Yu-Rong Gu 1 and Xi-Gao Cheng 1 1 First Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, PR China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Xi-Gao Cheng, email: // Keywords : osteosarcoma, αB-Crystallin, invasion, MMP-9, prognosis Received : June 24, 2015 Accepted : November 21, 2015 Published : January 17, 2016 Abstract Accumulating evidences indicate the elevated expression of αB-Crystallin (Cryab) is implicated in tumorigenesis. However, the expression and biologic role of Cryab in osteosarcoma (OS) are still unknown. In this study, we showed that Cryab expression was elevated in OS tissues and cell lines, and down-regulation of Cryab in MG-63 and U-2OS cells led to a decline in the cells’ aggressiveness, and reduced secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in vitro, and lower metastasis potential in vivo . Further study indicated that the Cryab expression was positively associated with the activity of ERK1/2 which is responsible for the cells’ aggressiveness and MMP-9 secretion. Clinically, our data confirmed that the high level of Cryab was associated with shorten survival and tumor recurrence for the postoperative OS patients. Together, our results indicate that high level of Cryab is a new adverse outcomes marker for OS patients and may be used as a new therapeutic target.