Expression of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase beta (LPAAT-beta) in ovarian carcinoma: correlation with tumour grading and prognosis.
Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase beta (LPAAT-beta) is an enzyme involved in lipid biosynthesis whose role in tumour progression has been of emerging interest in the last few years. We investigated the expression of LPAAT-beta by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry in 10 ovarian cell lines as well as in a cohort of 106 ovarian tumours and normal ovaries. Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase beta mRNA was found in all cell lines and ovarian tumours examined. Expression of LPAAT-beta protein was significantly increased in ovarian carcinomas compared to benign ovarian tissue (chi2 test P-value=0.001, Kruskal-Wallis test P-value <0.0001). Furthermore, LPAAT-beta expression was positively associated with higher tumour grade (P=0.044), higher mitotic index (P<0.0001) and tumour stage (P=0.032). Expression of LPAAT-beta was significantly linked to reduced overall survival time (P=0.024) as well as to shorter progression-free survival time (P=0.012) in patients younger than 60 years. Our study shows that LPAAT-beta is upregulated in ovarian cancer and is more prevalent in poorly differentiated tumours. In addition, LPAAT-beta expression is a predictor of a worse prognosis in patients younger than 60 years. Further studies are needed to investigate if LPAAT-beta may serve as a therapeutic target for certain subgroups of patients.
Niesporek
S
S
Institute of Pathology, Charité University Hospital, Campus Mitte, Schumannstr. 20/21, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Denkert
C
C
Weichert
W
W
Köbel
M
M
Noske
A
A
Sehouli
J
J
Singer
J W
JW
Dietel
M
M
Hauptmann
S
S
D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010053:Ovary / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
D000217:Acyltransferases; C018764:2-acylglycerophosphate acyltransferase