Abstract:

Objective To detect SNAT1 protein expression and determine its clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer（NSCLC）. Methods Tissue microarray blocks containing 98 NSCLC tumor specimens were constructed. Expression of SNAT1 in NSCLC specimens and adjacent cancer tissues was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. A549 cells were transfected with plasmid vector which expressed sh-SNAT1. MTT assay and cloning formation assay were used to detect proliferation of A549 cells which were knocked down SNAT1 expression. Results The positive expression of SNAT1 was 53.1％ in NSCLC， while SNAT1 wasn't expressed in adjacent cancer tissues. SNAT1 expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis， tumor stage and differentiation. Patients with SNAT1 positive expression had significantly shorter survival time than those with SNAT1 negative expression（23.3 vs. 40.5months， P＜0.001）. Downregulating expression of SNAT1 leaded to the inhibition of cell growth. Conclusion SNAT1 expression significantly increased with the progression of NSCLC， suggesting the importance of SNAT1 as a potential biomarker in predicting the outcome of patients with NSCLC.