Conclusions
High UL111A expression changes the number of infiltrating T cells and is associated with favorable survival. Therefore, UL111A could be used as an independent prognostic biomarker and might be a potential therapeutic target for GC.
Methods
PCR and nested RT-PCR were performed to verify UL111A expression in 71 GC tissues and its transcripts in 16 UL111A-positive GC samples. UL111A expression levels in GC patients were evaluated by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray for 620 GC patients. The correlations among UL111A expression levels, clinicopathological characteristics, and prognosis were analyzed. Further, the effects of overexpression of latency-associated viral interleukin-10 (LAcmvIL-10) and cmvIL-10 on GC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion were assessed.
Purpose
We previously found that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is associated with gastric cancer (GC) development. UL111A plays a role during HCMV productive or latent infection. However, UL111A expression profiles in GC tissues and their relationship with this disease are unknown.
Results
The UL111A detection rate in GC tissues was 32.4% (23/71) and that of its mRNA expression was 68.75% (11/16). High expression of UL111A was also related to better overall and disease-free survival in GC patients. GC patients with TNM II/III stage expressing higher UL111A levels might benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) after surgery. Moreover, high UL111A expression was also associated with increased CD4+ , CD8+ T-lymphocyte and Foxp3+ T-cell infiltration. In vitro assays further demonstrated that LAcmvIL-10 and cmvIL-10 overexpression inhibits GC cell line proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Conclusions: High UL111A expression changes the number of infiltrating T cells and is associated with favorable survival. Therefore, UL111A could be used as an independent prognostic biomarker and might be a potential therapeutic target for GC.