Elevated expression of Gsα in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma associates with poor prognosis
Xiao-Yue Cao, Hong-Jie Ji, Yong-Jie Zhou, Xu-Feng Lu, Jun-Yi Shen, Zhen-Ru Wu, Hong Bu and Yu-Jun Shi
Chengdu, China
Author Affiliations: Laboratory of Pathology (Cao XY, Ji HJ, Zhou YJ, Lu XF, Wu ZR, Bu H and Shi YJ), Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHFPC (Cao XY, Ji HJ, Zhou YJ, Lu XF, Bu H and Shi YJ), Department of Liver Surgery & Liver Transplantation Center (Shen JY) and Department of Pathology (Bu H), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
Corresponding Author: Yu-Jun Shi, MD, PhD, Laboratory of Pathology, Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHFPC, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 Guoxue Road, Chengdu 610041, China (Email: shiyujun@scu.edu.cn)
Abstract：BACKGROUND: The stimulatory G protein α subunit (Gsα) plays important roles in diverse cell processes including tumorigenesis. Activating mutations in Gsα gene (GNAS) have been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in various human carcinomas. Furthermore, Gsα signaling is crucial in promoting liver regeneration by interacting with growth factor signaling, indicating that Gsα might play a promoting role in cancer development. However, little is known about the correlation between Gsα levels and clinicopathological parameters in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).
METHODS: We performed immunoblotting to examine the expression levels of Gsα and Ki67 proteins in tumor tissues and the corresponding adjacent tissues. A total of 74 pair of specimens resected from 74 ICC patients were examined. The association between Gsα levels and clinicopathological findings and prognosis of the patients was evaluated.
RESULTS: Western blotting demonstrated that the expression of Gsα was significantly higher in ICC tissues compared with that in their corresponding adjacent tissues. Gsα protein was highly expressed in about half of ICC tissues (48.6%, 36/74) while only 28.4% (21/74) of tumor adjacent tissues showed Gsα high expression (P=0.011). High Gsα expression in ICC was significantly associated with the numbers of tumor nodules (P=0.037) and lymph node metastases (P=0.010). Moreover, the level of Gsα was significantly and positively correlated with Ki67 expression (P<0.001). In addition, the recurrence-free survival rate and overall survival rate in the Gsα high group were significantly lower than those in the Gsα low group (P=0.004 and P=0.005, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: High Gsα expression is correlated with poor prognosis in ICC patients. Gsα might serve as a potential prognostic indicator of ICC.
2017, Vol. 16 
