High level of Sema3C is associated with glioma malignancy

BACKGROUND: Malignant gliomas are characterized by the tendency of cancerous glial cells to infiltrate into normal brain tissue, thereby complicating targeted treatment of this type of cancer. Recent studies suggested involvement of Sema3C (semaphorin 3C) protein in tumorigenesis and metastasis in a number of cancers. The role of Sema3C in gliomagenesis is currently unclear. In this study, we investigated how expression levels of Sema3C in post-operative glioma tumors are associated with the malignancy grade and the survival of the patient. FINDINGS: Western blot analysis was used for detection of Sema3C protein levels in 84 different grade glioma samples: 12 grade I astrocytomas, 30 grade II astrocytomas, 17 grade III astrocytomas, and 25 grade IV astrocytomas (glioblastomas). Sema3C mRNA levels in gliomas were analysed by real-time PCR. Several statistical methods have been used to investigate associations between Sema3C protein and mRNA levels and clinical variables and survival outcome. The results demonstrated that protein levels of Sema3C were markedly increased in glioblastomas compared to grade I-III astrocytoma tissues and were significantly associated with the shorter overall survival of patients. High accumulation of Sema3C positively associated with the age of patients and pathological grade, but did not correlate with patient’s gender. Sema3C mRNA levels showed no association with either grade of glioma or patient survival. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented in this work suggest that the increased levels of Sema3C protein may be associated with the progression of glioma tumor and has a potential as a prognostic marker for outcome of glioma patients. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1564066714158642 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13000-015-0298-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.