Expression and significance of Krüppel-like factor 8 protein in the gallbladder cancer tissues

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of Kruppel-like factor 8 (KLF8) protein in the gallbladder cancer tissues and its relationship with the clinical pathological features and prognosis of patients.Methods The clinical data of 40 patients with gallbladder cancer were analyzed retrospectively.All the patients were admitted at the Xinhua Hospital of the Shanghai Jiaotong University from January 2008 to December 2012.The expressions of KLF8 protein in the gallbladder and paracarcinoma tissues were examined by the immunohistochemistry and the Western blot.Patients were followed-up through outpatient examination and telephone interview until November 2013.Count data were analyzed using the Pearson x2 test and Fisher's exact probability.Quantitative data were analyzed using the t test.Survival curve was generated using the Kaplan-Meier method,and the survival analysis was conducted using the Log-rank test.Results The expression of the KLF8 protein was predominantly detected in the nuclei of the tumor cells.The positive rate of the KLF8 protein expression in gallbladder cancer and paracarcinoma tissues were 77.5％ (31/40) and 27.5％ (11/40),respectively,which showing a significant difference (x2=6.580,P ＜ 0.05).The expression of KLF8 protein by Western blot method in gallbladder cancer tissues was 0.67 ±0.03,which were compared with 0.22 ±0.12 in paracarcinoma tissue,showing a significant difference (t =8.660,P ＜ 0.05).The expression level of the KLF8 protein in patients with gallbladder cancer was however not associated with gender,age,lymph node metastasis and gallstone (x2 =0.755,0.227,0.029,0.062,P ＞ 0.05),however was positively correlated to TNM stage and tumor differentiation (x2=8.027,P ＜ 0.05).The median survival time and 3-year cumulative survival rate was 19 months and 44.4％ for patients with negative expression of KLF8 protein,compared with 6 months and 22.6％ for those with positive expression of KLF8 protein,with statically significance for two proteins (x2 =11.837,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The overexpression of the KLF8 protein in the gallbladder cancer is positively correlated with the occurrence and development of gallbladder cancer,and it may be an prognostic indicator for patients. Key words: Gallbladder neoplasms ; Kruppel-like factor 8 ; Prognosis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Immunoblotting