Overexpression of Cell-Surface Marker SLC16A1 Shortened Survival in Human High-Grade Gliomas

Solute carrier family 16 member 1 (SLC16A1) is a crucial transcription factor in modifying cancer progression and metastasis. However, its character in defining the clinical prognosis of human gliomas has not been illuminated. In our analysis from PREdiction of Clinical Outcomes from Genomic Profiles (PRECOG), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), we found that SLC16A1 mRNA expression level was significantly increased in high-grade gliomas in contrast to low-grade gliomas and non-tumor controls (P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis of four independent cohort studies from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) profile, TCGA, and CGGA which consistently presented patients with high SLC16A1 mRNA expression displayed poor overall survival in high-grade glioma patients (P < 0.05 by log-rank test). Based on the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING), the protein-protein interaction analysis of SLC16A1-regulated oncogenesis showed SLC16A1 as a potential hub protein. Immunohistochemical staining exhibited that SLC16A1 protein overexpressed in high-grade gliomas compared with low-grade clinical glioma samples. All these findings suggest that SLC16A1 expression has a positive correlation with WHO pathological grading and poor survival. SLC16A1 might be a potential biomarker of prognosis in human gliomas.