Evaluation of TAZ expression and its effect on tumor invasion and metastasis in human glioma

摘要

Objective:To evaluate the expression ofTAZ and its role in tumor invasion and metastasis in human glioma.Methods:The expression ofTAZ protein was measured in48 samples of surgically resected human glioma and13 samples of normal brain tissues using immunohistochemistry. TAZ was knocked down by a retrovirus-mediatedTAZ shRNA in a glioma cell line,SNB19. Transwell cell migration and invasion assays were used to determine migration and invasion ofSNB19 cells.Results:The positive expression rate ofTAZ protein in glioma tissues was significantly higher than that in normal brain tissues(79.2%vs.15.4%,P<0.001).Furthermore, clinical analysis suggested that the positive expression rate ofTAZ protein in poorly differentiated tumor tissues was significantly higher as compared with that in well differentiated tissues(96.0%vs.60.9%,P<0.01).TAZ was significantly knocked down byTAZ shRNA(P<0.001), andTAZ knockdown significantly reduced cell migration and invasion(P<0.01, respectively) inSNB19 cells.Conclusions:TAZ protein overexpression is observed in human glioma and its elevated expression is significantly correlated with poor differentiation.TAZ knockdown prominently reduces cell migration and invasion inSNB19 cells, suggesting thatTAZ may play a key role in the initiation and progression of human glioma.