Up‐regulation of LIMK1 expression in prostate cancer is correlated with poor pathological features, lymph node metastases and biochemical recurrence

• Published in: Journal of cellular and molecular medicine Vol. 24; no. 8; pp. 4698 - 4706
• Main Authors: Huang, Jin‐Bei, Wu, Yu‐Peng, Lin, Yun‐Zhi, Cai, Hai, Chen, Shao‐Hao, Sun, Xiong‐Lin, Li, Xiao‐Dong, Wei, Yong, Zheng, Qing‐Shui, Xu, Ning, Xue, Xue‐Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: advanced pathological features; Aged; Androgens; Antigens; biochemical recurrence; Cancer surgery; Cancer therapies; Cell cycle; Disease-Free Survival; Endocrine therapy; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - genetics; Humans; Hyperplasia; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; LIM domain kinase 1; LIM kinase; Lim Kinases - genetics; lymph node metastasis; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - metabolism; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymphatic Metastasis - genetics; Lymphatic Metastasis - pathology; Lymphatic system; Male; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - genetics; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - pathology; Original; Prostate - metabolism; Prostate - pathology; Prostate cancer; Prostatectomy; Prostatic Neoplasms - genetics; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Radiation therapy; Regression analysis; Risk factors; Seminal vesicle; Survival Analysis; Tumors; Up-regulation; LIM domain kinase 1; prostate cancer; advanced pathological features; biochemical recurrence; lymph node metastasis
• DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.15138
• ISSN: 1582-1838; 1582-4934

This study aimed to explore the association between LIM domain kinase 1 (LIMK1) expression in prostate cancer (PCa) tissues with advanced pathological features, lymph node metastases and biochemical recurrence. A total of 279 PCa specimens from patients who underwent radical prostatectomy and 50 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) specimens were collected to construct tissue microarray, which were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for LIMK1 expression subsequently. Logistic and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the relationship between LIMK1 expression and clinicopathological features of patients with PCa. Immunohistochemical staining assay demonstrated that LIMK1 expression was significantly higher in PCa than BPH specimens (77.1% vs 26.0%; P < .001). LIMK1 expression was significantly higher in positive lymph node specimens than corresponding PCa specimens (P = .002; P < .001). Up‐regulation of LIMK1 was associated with prostate volume, prostate‐specific antigen, prostate‐specific antigen density, Gleason score, T stage, lymph node metastases, extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion, and positive surgical margin. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that LIMK1 was an independent risk factor for PCa lymph node metastasis (P < .05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the up‐regulation of LIMK1 was an independent risk factor for biochemical recurrence. Kaplan‐Meier analysis indicated that up‐regulation LIMK1 was associated with shortened biochemical‐free survival (BFS) after radical prostatectomy (P < .001). In conclusion, LIMK1 was significantly up‐regulated in PCa and positive lymph node specimens and correlated with lymph node metastasis and shortened BFS of PCa. The underlying molecular mechanism of LIMK1 in PCa should be further evaluated.