Background:
Loss of STAT1 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-1) has been implicated in the pathobiology of a number of cancer types. Nonetheless, the biological and clinical significance of STAT1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) has not been comprehensively studied.Methods and results: Using immunohistochemistry, we found that the expression of STAT1 was heterogeneous in ESCC, with 64 (49.0%) strongly positive cases, 59 (45.0%) weakly positive cases and 8 (6.1%) negative cases. STAT1 expression inversely correlated with the depth of tumor invasion and tumor size (p = 0.047 and p = 0.029, respectively, Chi square). Furthermore, patients with STAT1-strong/weak tumors had a significantly longer survival compared to those with STAT1-negative tumors (33.6 months versus 13.1 months, p = 0.019). In patients carrying tumors of aggressive cytology (n = 50), those with STAT1-strong tumors survived significantly longer than those with STAT1-weak/negative tumors (34.6 months versus 20.5 months, p = 0.011). In-vitro experiments using enforced gene transfection of STAT1C into two STAT1-weak/negative ESCC cell lines and siRNA knockdown of STAT1 in two STAT1-strong ESCC cell lines revealed that STAT1 is pro-apoptotic and inhibitory to cell-cycle progression and colony formation. Lastly, we found evidence that STAT1 signaling in ESCC cells down-regulated the expression and/or activity of NF-kappaB and STAT3, both of which are known to have oncogenic potential.
Conclusion:
To conclude, our findings suggest that STAT1 is a tumor suppressor in ESCC. Loss of STAT1, which is frequent in ESCC, contributes to the pathogenesis of these tumors.
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