Open AccessExpression of GLUT1 in Pseudopalisaded and Perivascular Tumor Cells Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Patients With Glioblastomas
Author(s) -
Satoru Komaki,
Yasuo Sugita,
Takeshi Furuta,
Kyohei Yamada,
Mayuko Moritsubo,
Hideyuki Abe,
Jun Akiba,
Naohisa Miyagi,
Hideo Nakamura,
Hiroaki Miyoshi,
Koichi Ohshima,
Motohiro Morioka
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.441
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1554-6578
pISSN - 0022-3069
DOI - 10.1093/jnen/nly124
Subject(s) - glut1 , immunohistochemistry , glucose transporter , in situ hybridization , cancer research , staining , biology , pathology , survival analysis , medicine , gene expression , gene , biochemistry , insulin
Glioblastomas are highly aggressive brain tumors with a particularly poor prognosis. Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1/SLC2A1), a uniporter that is expressed by various carcinomas and may be involved in malignant neoplasm glycometabolism, may also be related to prognosis in glioblastomas. GLUT1 is essential to central nervous system glycometabolism. To clarify the exact role of GLUT1 in glioblastoma, we assessed the expression and localization of GLUT1 in patient samples by immunohistochemistry and in situ RNA hybridization. This revealed that GLUT1 was mainly expressed on perivascular and pseudopalisaded tumor cell membranes. All samples expressed GLUT1 to some degree, with 30.8% showing stronger staining. On the basis of these data, samples were divided into high and low expression groups, although SLC2A1 mRNA expression was also higher in the high GLUT1 expression group. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that high GLUT1 expression associated with lower overall survival (log-rank test, p = 0.001) and worse patient prognoses (p = 0.001). Finally, MIB-1 staining was stronger in high GLUT1 expression samples (p = 0.0004), suggesting a link with proliferation. We therefore hypothesize that GLUT1 expression in glioblastomas may enhance glycolysis, affecting patient prognosis. Examination of GLUT1 in patients with glioblastomas may provide a new prognostic tool to improve outcome.