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Cytoplasmic HuR expression correlates with angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and poor outcome in lung cancer

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Abstract

HuR is a ubiquitously expressed RNA-binding protein that stabilizes the mRNAs of certain genes and regulates the translation to proteins. Elevated cytoplasmic expression of HuR has been suggested to be associated with reduced survival in a wide variety of human carcinomas. However, the clinical significance of HuR expression in lung cancer remains unknown. In this study, we examined HuR expression in 132 patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) by means of immunohistochemistry and correlated clinicopathologic data, lymphatic microvessel density (LVD), or microvessel density (MVD) with HuR immunostaining. HuR was expressed in 80.3% (106/132) of cases and was predominantly localized in the nucleus. Cytoplasmic HuR expression occurred in 40.9% (54/132) of NSCLC specimens and was associated with high MVD and LVD. In univariate analysis, cytoplasmic HuR, but not nuclear HuR expression was found to significantly influence the relapse-free survival and overall survival. In addition, cytoplasmic expression of HuR was identified as an independent prognostic factor for survival in multivariate analysis. Our data provide evidence for a clinically prognostic role of HuR in NSCLC and demonstrate an association between HuR expression, and angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Professor Zhengtang Chen (Institute of Cancer Research, The Third Military Medical University) for his excellent technical advice. This study was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Number: 30901788) and Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Number: ZR2010HQ038 and ZR2010HM059).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, General Hospital, Jinan Command of the People’s Liberation Army, 250031, Jinan, China

    Jun Wang, Baocheng Wang, Jingwang Bi & Cong Zhang

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  1. Jun Wang
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  2. Baocheng Wang
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  4. Cong Zhang
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Correspondence to Jun Wang.

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Wang, J., Wang, B., Bi, J. et al. Cytoplasmic HuR expression correlates with angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and poor outcome in lung cancer. Med Oncol 28 (Suppl 1), 577–585 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-010-9734-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-010-9734-6

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