The expression and clinical significance of Rho-associated Kinase 1 in glioma tissues

Abstract

Objective To explore the expression and significance of Rho-associated kinase 1 (ROCK1) in glioma. Methods Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression levels of ROCK1 in glioma tissues. Product-Limit (Kaplan-Meier) was used to analyze the relationship between ROCK1 and clinical features of glioma patients. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) interference was applied to inhibit the expression of ROCK1 in glioblastoma cells. The migration of U251 cells was measured by Transwell assay. The proliferation of U251 cells was examined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Results Western blotting results showed that ROCK1 protein was highly expressed in glioma tissues. The expression of ROCK1 was not significantly correlated with gender, age, and tumor size (P>0.05), but significantly with World health organization (WHO) classification (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the median of ROCK1 high expression group was 13.00±2.04, and that of ROCK1 low expression group was 25.00±6.98. Patients with high expression of ROCK1 had a poor prognosis (P<0.01). Transwell assay results showed that there was a 45%-50% reduction in number of transmembrane cells in si-ROCK1 group, indicating that ROCK1 promotes cancer cell invasion. Transwell migration assay results showed the number of transmembrane cells in the si-ROCK1 group was reduced by 45%-50%, indicating that ROCK1 promotes tumor cell invasion. CCK-8 assay results showed that the number of clonal cells in the si-ROCK1 group was reduced by about 56 compared to the control group, indicating that ROCK1 promotes glioma cell proliferation. Conclusion ROCK1 is highly expressed in glioma patients and is associated with the development, progression, and metastasis of glioma. Key words: Rho-associated protein kinase 1; Glioma; Invasion; Proliferation