Presentation Information
[OE1-3]HJURP as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for oral cancer
○Bayarbat Tsevegjav1,2, Atsushi Takano1,2,3, Ming Zhu1,2, Yoshihiro Yoshitake4, Masanori Shinohara4, Yataro Daigo1,2,3 (1.Department of Medical Oncology and Cancer Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan, 2.Center for Advanced Medicine against Cancer, Shiga University of Medical Science, 3.Center for Antibody and Vaccine Therapy, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4.Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University)
Based on the gene expression database and subsequent screening for target molecules, we identified Holliday junction recognition protein (HJURP) as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for oral cancer. HJURP was highly expressed in the majority of oral cancers compared to normal oral tissues as detected by real-time qPCR and western blotting. HJURP protein was mainly localized in the nucleus of oral cancer cells as observed by immunocytochemical staining. Tissue microarray analysis showed that HJURP was expressed in 67.8% of 152 oral cancers, but it was hardly expressed in normal oral tissues. Positive HJURP expression was associated with poor clinical outcome of oral cancer patients (P=0.003, log-rank test). A multivariate analysis indicated that HJURP expression was an independent prognostic factor for patients with oral cancer. Knockdown of endogenous HJURP expression by siRNAs significantly inhibited the oral cancer cell growth and induced senescence of oral cancer cells. In contrast, exogenous expression of HJURP promoted oral cancer growth. Blocking peptide inhibited the binding of HJURP to CENP-A and significantly decreased the oral cancer cell growth. Since HJURP could be a potential prognostic biomarker and molecular target for oral cancer, we suggest inhibiting HJURP-CENP-A interaction could be one of the promising approaches for oral cancer treatment.