Cigarette smoking-related OLC1 overexpression associated with poor prognosis in bladder urothelial carcinoma

Abstract

Aims: To explore the clinical significance of OLC1 and cigarette smoking in bladder urothelial carcinoma (UBC).

Materials and methods: OLC1 mRNA expression was detected in 106 UBC samples by mRNA array or reverse real-time PCR. OLC1 protein expression in 114 UBC samples was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Wild-type C57BL/6J mice were injected with cigarette smoke condensate (n = 12) or exposed to cigarette smoke (n = 6) to investigate the correlations between cigarette smoking and OLC1 expression using mRNA array.

Key findings: The mRNA and protein expression of OLC1 were higher in tumor samples (p < 0.01) and significantly correlated with tumor stage (p < 0.05). OLC1 protein expression and smoking history were correlated with disease-free survival (p < 0.05). OLC1 expression was significantly elevated in smoking patients with higher smoking intensity on both mRNA and protein levels (p < 0.05). Cigarette smoke exposure experiments revealed that OLC1 mRNA overexpressed in bladder uroepithelium of mice.

Significance: OLC1 could serve as a potential prognosis biomarker of UBC, especially for smoking patients.

Keywords: Bladder urothelial carcinoma; Cigarette smoking; OLC1; Prognosis; Smoking intensity.