Decreased expression of prenyl diphosphate synthase subunit 2 correlates with reduced survival of patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Identification of novel molecular biomarkers will improve the management of patients with gastric cancer (GC). Prenyl diphosphate synthase subunit 2 (PDSS2) is required for coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis and acts as a tumor suppressor; however, the role and regulatory mechanisms of PDSS2 in GC are not understood. The aim of this study was to determine expression status and regulatory mechanisms of PDSS2 in GC. METHODS: Associations between expression and methylation of PDSS2 were evaluated using GC cell lines. The clinical significance of PDSS2 expression was evaluated using 238 pairs of surgically resected gastric tissues with subgroup analysis based on GC subtypes. RESULTS: The expression of PDSS2 mRNA was decreased in 73% of GC cell lines compared with the control non-cancerous cell. The PDSS2 promoter was hypermethylated in cells with decreased PDSS2 expression, and treating these cells with a methylation inhibitor reactivated PDSS2 expression. GC tissues expressed significantly lower mean levels of PDSS2 mRNA compared with adjacent normal tissues (P <0.001). The expression pattern of PDSS2 protein was consistent with that of its mRNA. The decrease of PDSS2 mRNA expression in GC tissues (less than half the level of expression detected in the corresponding normal adjacent tissues) correlated significantly with elevated levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (P = 0.015), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.022), and shorter recurrence-free survival after curative resection (P = 0.022). Further, multivariate analysis identified PDSS2 mRNA expression as an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.22–3.09, P = 0.005), and its expression pattern and prognostic significance were similar among three GC subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: PDSS2 encodes a putative tumor suppressor, and we show here that its expression was regulated by hypermethylation of its promoter in GC cells. Inhibition of PDSS2 mRNA expression may serve as a novel biomarker of all types of GC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-014-0088-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.