Tripartite motif-containing protein 28 (TRIM28) has been proved to accelerate cell proliferation and
metastasis in a variety of human
cancers. However, the role of TRIM28 in
esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. In this study, to compare the
biological effect and significance of TRIM28 expression in ESCC, immunohistochemistry (
streptavidin-perosidase, S-P) method was used firstly to examine the expression of TRIM28 in 136 cases of ESCC, 35 cases of high grade intraepithelial
neoplasia (HGIN), 29 cases of low grade intraepithelial
neoplasia (LGIN) and 37 cases of normal esophageal epithelium (NEE). Then the associations of TRIM28 expression with clinicopathological data and overall survival (OS) were also analyzed. Western blot was performed to evaluate
TRIM28 protein in a total of 20 matched human ESCC and NEE tissues. Moreover, the localization of
TRIM28 protein in ESCC and NEE tissues was also detected by immunofluorescence.
TRIM28 protein was mainly distributed in the nucleus of ESCC. The expression of TRIM28 increased progressively from NEE to LGIN, to HGIN, and to ESCC, and it was also related to invasive depth, pTNM stage and
lymph node metastasis in ESCC (P < 0.05). The results of western blot and immunofluorescence all showed that the relative expression of
TRIM28 protein was markedly upregulated in ESCC compared with the NEE tissues (P < 0.01). However, prognostic analysis showed that TRIM28 may not be a prognostic factor of patients with ESCC. In conclusion, the overexpression of TRIM28 may play an important role for development and
metastasis in ESCC.