Kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (KLK6) expression in the progression of colon adenoma to carcinoma

Biol Chem. 2014 Sep;395(9):1105-17. doi: 10.1515/hsz-2014-0166.

Abstract

KLK6 is a secreted trypsin-like serine protease. KLK6 mRNA expression and its association with colon cancer (CC) progression was studied using quantitative real-time PCR. We examined the expression of KLK6 in 232 colon tissues (cancerous, non-cancerous, and adenomatous). We proved that KLK6 expression in CC behaves as a continuous variable, as its expression correlates significantly with increasing tumor stage (p=0.004) and histological grade (p=0.007). Interestingly, the expression of KLK6 in adenomas was significantly higher than that in the cancerous or non-cancerous tissues examined (p<0.001). Cox proportional hazard regression model using univariate analysis revealed that positive KLK6 expression is a significant factor for disease-free survival (DFS) (p=0.017) and overall survival (OS) (p=0.002) of patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that KLK6-negative expression is significantly associated with longer DFS (p=0.009) and OS (p=0.001). ROC analysis showed that KLK6 expression has significant discriminatory power in distinguishing cancerous from non-cancerous colon tissues (p<0.001), or cancerous from adenoma tissues (p=0.001), or adenoma from non-cancerous colon tissues (p<0.001). Additionally, strong KLK6 immunostaining was seen in the cancer cells of selected CC sections, as well as in glandular cells and inflammatory cells of adenomas. In conclusion, KLK6 may represent a potential unfavorable prognostic biomarker for CC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenoma / genetics*
  • Adenoma / pathology*
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Colonic Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Colonic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Disease Progression*
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Intestinal Mucosa / pathology
  • Kallikreins / genetics*
  • Kallikreins / metabolism
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Middle Aged
  • ROC Curve

Substances

  • KLK6 protein, human
  • Kallikreins