The K-Cl cotransporter KCC3 as an independent prognostic factor in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Biomed Res Int. 2014:2014:936401. doi: 10.1155/2014/936401. Epub 2014 Jul 9.

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the role of K-Cl cotransporter 3 (KCC3) in the regulation of cellular invasion and the clinicopathological significance of its expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Immunohistochemical analysis performed on 70 primary tumor samples obtained from ESCC patients showed that KCC3 was primarily found in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. Although the expression of KCC3 in the main tumor (MT) was related to several clinicopathological features, such as the pT and pN categories, it had no prognostic impact. KCC3 expression scores were compared between the MT and cancer nest (CN), and the survival rate of patients with a CN > MT score was lower than that of patients with a CN ≤ MT score. In addition, the survival rate of patients in whom KCC3 was expressed in the invasive front of tumor was lower than that of the patients without it. Furthermore, multivariate analysis demonstrated that the expression of KCC3 in the invasive front was one of the most important independent prognostic factors. The depletion of KCC3 using siRNAs inhibited cell migration and invasion in human ESCC cell lines. These results suggest that the expression of KCC3 in ESCC may affect cellular invasion and be related to a worse prognosis in patients with ESCC.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* / mortality
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement*
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Esophageal Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Esophageal Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Esophageal Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Neoplasm Proteins / biosynthesis*
  • Survival Rate
  • Symporters / biosynthesis*

Substances

  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • SLC12A6 protein, human
  • Symporters