Prognostic and functional role of hyaluronan-binding protein 1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Hyaluronan-binding protein 1 (HABP1) is among the molecules known to bind to hyaluronan and is involved in a variety of cellular processes, including cell proliferation and migration. HABP1 has been implicated in the progression of various cancers; however, there have been (to the best of our knowledge) few studies on the expression and function of HABP1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a topic that is examined in the present study. Immunohistochemical analysis of HABP1 protein was conducted in archival tissues from 105 patients with PDAC. Furthermore, the functional effect of HABP1 on proliferation, colony formation, and migration in PDAC cells was examined by knockdown of HABP1. It was revealed that HABP1 was overexpressed in 49 (46.2%) out of 105 patients with PDAC. Overall survival was significantly shorter in patients with high HABP1 expression than in those with low HABP1 expression (median survival time of 12.8 months vs. 28.5 months; log-rank test, P=0.004). Knockdown of HABP1 expression in PDAC cells resulted in decreased cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration activity. Thus, HABP1 may serve as a prognostic factor in PDAC and may be of use as a novel therapeutic target.