title: Acylglycerol kinase is over-expressed in early-stage cervical squamous cell cancer and predicts poor prognosis.
abstract: Acylglycerol kinase (AGK) had been shown to contribute to cancer progression and unfavorable clinical outcomes of patients. Our study aimed to investigate the expression pattern and clinical significance of AGK in patients with early-stage cervical squamous cell cancer (CSCC). The protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of AGK was analyzed in six cervical cancer cell lines and four paired early-stage CSCC specimens and normal cervical tissues (NCT), using Western blotting and real-time PCR (RT-PCR). And we investigated the AGK protein expression in paraffin-embedded specimens from 140 patients with early-stage CSCC and 30 cases of NCT by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of AGK expression. The expressions of AGK protein and mRNA were significantly up-regulated in cervical cancer cell lines and cancer tissues. IHC analyses revealed that AGK was highly expressed in 93 (66.4 %) of 140 early-stage CSCC specimens, but in none of the NCT. Moreover, AGK expression in early-stage CSCC was significantly correlated with tumor stage (P < 0.001), tumor size (P < 0.001), and tumor type (P < 0.001). Early-stage CSCC patients with high AGK expression level had shorter progress-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) time compared with patients with low AGK expression levels. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified AGK expression level as an independent prognostic factor for survival of early-stage CSCC patients. We showed that AGK was over-expressed in cervical cancer cell lines and clinical tissues, and over-expression of AGK was associated with poor survival outcomes of early-stage CSCC patients. AGK can be used as an independent prognostic marker for early-stage CSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Ave, GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510515, China. sf99609248@126.com.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecologic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China. tdken999@163.com.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Ave, GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510515, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Reproductive Medicine and Genetic Research, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Ave, GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510515, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Reproductive Medicine and Genetic Research, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Reproductive Medicine and Genetic Research, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China.
authors.forename: Lin-Jiang
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
authors.forename: Mu-Yan
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Ave, GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510515, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Xing
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Ave, GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510515, China. mayanlinma@hotmail.com.|Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Reproductive Medicine and Genetic Research, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan, 571101, China. mayanlinma@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yan-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Ave, GuangZhou, GuangDong, 510515, China. 99609248@qq.com.
authors.forename: Yan-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); C025944:acylglycerol kinase
keywords: AGK; Biomarker; Early-stage squamous cell cervical cancer; Prognosis