The oncogene Golgi
phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) has been found in several solid
cancers, but its expression in
glioma tumor tissues is unknown. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot was used to investigate expression of GOLPH3
mRNA and
protein, respectively, in 76 patients with
glioma. Non-cancerous brain issues and
lung cancer cells were used as controls. There were 45 males and 31 females (mean age 50.7 ± 12.8 years).
Astrocytoma was found in 65 patients and
glioblastoma in 11. No GOLPH3 expression was found in the non-cancerous brain tissues, but positive GOLPH3
protein was found in
lung cancer cells. GOLPH3
mRNA and
protein expression were identified in 40 patients with
glioma (52.6%). Positive expression of GOLPH3
mRNA or
protein was similar in patients with
astrocytoma grades I-III and
glioblastoma (P > 0.05). The highest mean value of GOLPH3
mRNA and
protein was found in patients with
glioblastoma (P < 0.01) whereas the lowest mean values were found in those with
grade I astrocytoma (P < 0.01). We concluded that, in this pilot study, GOLPH3 expression was present in more than half of the patients with
glioma. The amount of GOLPH3 expression in the
glioma was associated with the severity of the
tumor. Whether positive GOLPH3 gene expression can be used as a predictor for prognosis of the patients or as a therapeutic target for
glioma requires further investigation.