Abstract
Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. 14-3-3ơ is an intracellular phosphoserine-binding protein that has been proposed to be involved in tumorigenesis. However, the biofunctional role of 14-3-3ơ and its clinicopathological/prognostic significance in LUAD have remained elusive. In the present study, western blot and immunohistochemical analyses of cancer tissues/cells and the corresponding normal controls were performed to verify that 14-3-3ơ was upregulated in LUAD. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that high expression of 14-3-3ơ predicted poor overall survival and progression-free survival of patients with LUAD. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that overexpression of 14-3-3ơ markedly promoted cell proliferation, colony formation, anchorage-independent growth and tumor growth, whereas 14-3-3ơ depletion produced the opposite effects. Of note, 14-3-3ơ was identified as an independent prognostic factor for patients with LUAD. Collectively, the present results revealed that high expression of 14-3-3ơ may serve as an independent biomarker, contributing to poor prognosis and progression of LUAD.