Does not hUTP14a promoter form a regulation feedback loop with P53?

Overexpression of U three protein 14a (UTP14a) is associated with poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers lacking valid prognostic biomarkers. As an essential component of a large ribonucleoprotein complex, U Three Protein 14a (UTP14a) might play important roles in human tumorigenesis. However, the clinical significance and functions of UTP14a in ESCC still remain unclear.

Methods

From September 2009 to August 2015, 210 patients with ESCC of the thoracic esophagus underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy in our institute. The corresponding 210 tissue samples and 30 cancer‐distant mucosa (CDM) samples were tested for UTP14a expression by immunohistochemical staining. The long‐term survival was analyzed by the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. CCK8, cell colony formation, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell invasion, and wound healing assays were carried out with ECA109 cells to evaluate the effects of UTP14a on ESCC in vitro.

Results

UTP14a was positively expressed in 88.1% (185/210) of the ESCC samples. UTP14a expression in ESCC was significantly higher than in CDM, as further confirmed by Western blot analysis. High expression of UTP14a in ESCC correlated significantly with tumor invasive depth (pT stage), which predicts poor disease‐free survival and disease‐specific survival, as indicated by the log‐rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Additionally, our in vitro experiments further demonstrated that knockdown of UTP14a inhibits cell proliferation and invasion in ECA109 cells.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that UTP14a is aberrantly expressed in ESCC, plays a critical role in cancer progression and could be a potential prognosis predictor of ESCC.

Human U Three Protein 14a Expression is Increased in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Associated with Poor Prognosis

Background:

Human U three protein 14a (hUTP14a) promotes p53 degradation. Moreover, hUTP14a expression is upregulated in several types of tumors. However, the expression pattern of hUTP14a in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate hUTP14a expression and its prognostic value in HCC.

Methods:

The hUTP14a expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in HCC tissue specimens. The correlations between hUTP14a expression and clinicopathological variables were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the association between hUTP14a expression and survival. Independent prognostic factors associated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using the Cox proportional-hazards regression model.

Results:

The IHC data revealed that the hUTP14a positivity rate in HCC tissue specimens was significantly higher than that in nontumorous tissue specimens (89.9% vs. 72.7%, P < 0.05). The hUTP14a expression was detected in both the nucleolus and the cytoplasm. The positivity rate of nucleolar hUTP14a expression in HCC tissue specimens was higher than that in the nontumorous tissue specimens (29.3% vs. 10.1%, P < 0.05). No significant difference was found between HCC and nontumorous tissue specimens of cytoplasmic hUTP14a expression (60.6% vs. 62.6%, P > 0.05). In addition, no significant correlation was found between nucleolar hUTP14a expression and other clinicopathological variables. The 5-year OS and DFS rates in patients with positive nucleolar hUTP14a expression were significantly lower than those in patients with negative hUTP14a expression (P = 0.004 for OS, P = 0.003 for DFS). Multivariate analysis showed that nucleolar hUTP14a expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.004) and DFS (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

The positivity rate of hUTP14a expression was significantly higher in HCC specimens. Positive expression of nucleolar hUTP14a might act as a novel prognostic predictor for patients with HCC.