AEG-1 expression correlates with CD133 and PPP6c levels in human glioma tissues

Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is associated with tumor genesis and progression in a variety of human cancers. This study aimed to explore the significance of AEG-1 in glioma and investigate whether it correlated with radioresistance of glioma cells. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the intensity of AEG-1, CD133 and PPP6c protein expression in glioma tissues increased significantly, mainly in the cytoplasm. The expression rate of AEG-1, CD133 and PPP6c were 85.9% (67/78), 60.3% (47/78) and 65.8% (51/78), respectively. AEG-1 expression was correlated with age (r50.227, P50.045), clinical stage (r50.491, P,0.001) and clinical grade (r50.450, P,0.001). No correlation was found between AEG-1 expression and other clinicopathologic parameters (P.0.05). The expression of AEG-1 was positively correlated with the expression of CD133 (r50.240, P 5 0.035) and PPP6c (r5 0.250, P 5 0.027). In addition, retrieved data on TCGA implied co-occurrence of genomic alterations of AEG-1 and PPP6c in glioblastoma. Our findings indicate that AEG-1 is positively correlated with CD133 and AEG-1 expression. It may play an important role in the progression of glioma and may serve as potential novel marker of chemoresistance and radioresistance.