Clinical and biological significance of thymopoietin-α in gastric cancer

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Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world, yet little is known about the molecular process of its development and progression. In this study, we investigated the involvement of a nuclear laminal protein thymopoietin-α (TMPO-α) in tumor progression, and in the prognosis of human GC. Methods The patient cohort in this study consisted of 145 GC cases from 1998 to 2011, documenting pathologic and clinical factors, as well as clinical outcomes. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting were employed to examine the TMPO-α expression in 145 pairs of normal and GC tissues and 7 gastric cells. Based on the expression of TMPO-α, one GC cell with high TMPO-α level was chosen for knockdown of TMPO-α expression. The effect of TMPO-α knockdown on the growth, migration and invasion of TMPO-α-manipulated GC cells was examined. Results TMPO-α protein overexpression was observed in 81 patients and was significantly correlated with Lauren classification, nodal status, distant metastasis, staging, degree of differentiation, and poor disease-free and overall survival. Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that TMPO-α overexpression is a prognostic marker for GC. Furthermore, TMPO-α expression was elevated in several GC cells. In vitro experiments indicated that TMPO-α knockdown inhibited GC cell growth, migration and invasion. Conclusion This study suggests that overexpression of TMPO-α can be a useful marker for predicting the outcome of GC patients and that TMPO-α targeting can represent a potential modality for treating GC.