TTLL12 expression in ovarian cancer correlates with a poor outcome

The tubulin-tyrosine ligase (TTLL) family is involved in the progression of many cancers. Tubulin-tyrosine ligase-like protein 12 (TTLL12), a member of the TTLL family, has functions of histone methylation and affects the activities of tubulin tyrosine ligase, which are often observed abnormally in many cancers. Recently, a TTLL12 isoform was reported as abnormal in many cancer cells, but the potential role of TTLL12 in ovarian cancer (OC) is still unknown. In this study, we used quantitative real-time RT-PCR and western blot to determine the expressions of TTLL12 in ovarian cancer cells and tissues and also performed immunohistochemical staining to examine the TTLL12 expression levels in 72 OC tissues and their matched adjacent normal ovarian tissues (ANOTs), to further explore the potential clinical features. The results showed that the TTLL12 expression level in OC tissues was significantly increased when compared to the ANOTs. In addition, TTLL12 expression was also remarkably upregulated in OC cell lines compared to the normal ovarian cell line. Furthermore, we found that the TTLL12 level was significantly associated with the clinical features of the FIGO stage (P=0.001) and peritoneal cytology (P=0.042). Moreover, TTLL12 is thought to be an independent risk factor for the overall survival (OS, P=0.022) and disease-free survival (DFS, P=0.040) of OC patients. In conclusion, this study identified TTLL12 as a potential molecular marker for predicting the invasion and progression of OC.