Glioblastoma is a diffusely growing malignant brain tumor and among the most aggressive of all tumors. Wilms' tumor 1‐associating protein (WTAP) is a nuclear protein that has been associated with regulation of proliferation and apoptosis. Although its dynamic expression and physiological functions in vascular cells have been reported, those in other cells are largely unknown. Here, we show for the first time that WTAP is overexpressed in glioblastoma. Moreover we found that WTAP regulates migration and invasion of glioblatoma cells. Specific knockdown by siRNA or overexpression by cDNA regulated migration and invasion of cancer cells. In xenograft study, WTAP overexpression made cancer cells more tumorigenic. In the investigation for its underlying mechanism, we found that the activity of epidermal growth factor receptor can be regulated by WTAP. These results reveal a novel function of WTAP and suggest its clinical application.

Stathmin1 is a microtubule-regulating protein that has an important role in the assembly and disassembly of the mitotic spindle. The roles of stathmin1 in carcinogenesis of various cancers, including prostate and breast cancer, have been explored. However, its expression and roles in gastric cancer have not yet been described. Stathmin1 expression in paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 226 patients was analysed by immunohistochemistry. Roles of stathmin1 were studied using a specific small interfering RNA (siRNA). The expression of stathmin1 was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stages and vascular invasion, and negatively with recurrence-free survival, in the diffuse type of gastric cancer. The median recurrence-free survival in patients with a negative and positive expression of stathmin1 was 17.0 and 7.0 months, respectively (P=0.009). When the expression of stathmin1 was knocked down using siRNA, the proliferation, migration and invasion of poorly differentiated gastric cancer cells in vitro were significantly inhibited. Moreover, stathmin1 siRNA transfection significantly slowed the growth of xenografts in nude mice. These results suggest that stathmin1 can be a good prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival rate and is a therapeutic target in diffuse-type gastric cancer.

SLC2A2 (GLUT2) as a novel prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma SLC2A2 (GLUT2) as a novel prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma