title: Tafazzin protein expression is associated with tumorigenesis and radiation response in rectal cancer: a study of Swedish clinical trial on preoperative radiotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tafazzin (TAZ), a transmembrane protein contributes in mitochondrial structural and functional modifications through cardiolipin remodeling. TAZ mutations are associated with several diseases, but studies on the role of TAZ protein in carcinogenesis and radiotherapy (RT) response is lacking. Therefore we investigated the TAZ expression in rectal cancer, and its correlation with RT, clinicopathological and biological variables in the patients participating in a clinical trial of preoperative RT.
  
  
  METHODS
  140 rectal cancer patients were included in this study, of which 65 received RT before surgery and the rest underwent surgery alone. TAZ expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in primary cancer, distant, adjacent normal mucosa and lymph node metastasis. In-silico protein-protein interaction analysis was performed to study the predictive functional interaction of TAZ with other oncoproteins.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TAZ showed stronger expression in primary cancer and lymph node metastasis compared to distant or adjacent normal mucosa in both non-RT and RT patients. Strong TAZ expression was significantly higher in stages I-III and non-mucinious cancer of non-RT patients. In RT patients, strong TAZ expression in biopsy was related to distant recurrence, independent of gender, age, stages and grade (p = 0.043, HR, 6.160, 95% CI, 1.063-35.704). In silico protein-protein interaction study demonstrated that TAZ was positively related to oncoproteins, Livin, MAC30 and FXYD-3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Strong expression of TAZ protein seems to be related to rectal cancer development and RT response, it can be a predictive biomarker of distant recurrence in patients with preoperative RT.
authors.affiliation: ivision of Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Surajit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pathak
authors.affiliation: ivision of Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden; epartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Jian
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: chool of Medicine, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: ivision of Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gnosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Kalyani University, Kalyani, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Suman Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Nandy
authors.affiliation: ivision of Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adell
authors.affiliation: ivision of Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holmlund
authors.affiliation: ivision of Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Xiao-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; C419866:BIRC7 protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C091777:FXYD3 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; C516615:TMEM97 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000217:Acyltransferases; C108675:TAFAZZIN protein, human