Evaluation of TRAF3IP2 Gene Expression in Brain Tumor Tissue of Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme in Comparison to Non-Tumoral Brain Tissue

Abstract

Background: Glioblastoma, not otherwise specified (NOS), is the most common primary malignant brain tumor. The TRAF3IP2 gene is an upstream regulator responsible for activating multiple proinflammatory pathways that could influence tumor size, angiogenesis, aggressiveness, and metastasis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate and assess the TRAF3IP2 gene expression in brain tumor tissue of patients with glioblastoma, NOS and compare it with non-neoplastic brain tissue.Method: In this case-control study, biopsies were obtained from 15 surgically glioblastoma, NOS removed block samples and 15 non-neoplastic brain tissue samples containing normal white and gray matter as controls. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was isolated and reverse-transcribed to complementary DNA (cDNA). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was then carried out to measure TRAF3IP2 gene expression.Results: We evaluated data from 30 cases, divided into two groups: case (N = 15) and control (N = 15). Based on our data, the expression of the TRAF3IP2 gene was 6.95 ± 0.65 times higher in glioblastoma multiforme tissue compared with controls (P < 0.05). We also found no significant difference in TRAF3IP2 gene expression between genders (P = 0.452), and there was no significant correlation between TRAF3IP2 gene expression and age (P = 0.745).Conclusion: The expression of the TRAF3IP2 gene was almost seven times higher in glioblastoma, NOS brain tissue compared with normal brain samples. This finding could have significant clinical and therapeutic implications.

Keywords

• glioblastoma multiforme
• gene expression
• case-control study