RETRACTED: Elevated GAPDH expression is associated with the proliferation and invasion of lung and esophageal squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, is one of the most investigated housekeeping genes and widely used as an internal control in analysis of gene expression levels. The present study was designed to assess whether GAPDH is associated with cancer cell growth and progression and, therefore may not be a good internal control in cancer research. Our results from clinical tissue studies showed that the levels of GAPDH protein were significantly up-regulated in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues, compared with the adjacent normal lung tissues, and this was confirmed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. GAPDH knockdown by siRNA resulted in significant reductions in proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung squamous carcinoma cells in vitro. In a nude mouse cancer xenograft model, GAPDH knockdown significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and migration/invasion in vivo. In summary, GAPDH may not be an appropriate internal control for gene expression studies, especially in cancer research. The role of GAPDH in cancer development and progression should be further examined in pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Quality assessment and preservation of RNA from biobank tissue specimens: a systematic review

“…The majority of studies observed no change in global transcript expression levels or of cancer-specific markers and known housekeeping genes, which may imply the RNA quality was fit for purpose or that perhaps the markers chosen were not suitable for downstream analysis validation. For instance, glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate dehydrogenase, one of the most investigated housekeeping genes widely used as an internal control in gene expression analyses, has recently been shown to affect cellular functions in cancer cells and may therefore not be an appropriate internal control for gene expression studies, particularly in cancer 41 42. In contrast, two studies investigating markers of cellular function and cancer-related genes reported decreases in gene expression in a time-dependent and temperature-dependent manner 12 30.…”

Glycolytic biomarkers predict transformation in patients with follicular lymphoma

“…Aldolase A and GAPDH are both glycolytic enzymes that contribute to the metabolic turnover of glucose [12][13][14], which is generally increased in cancer [15]. Overexpression of both these enzymes have been identified in various cancers, and has been associated with poor patient outcomes [16][17][18][19][20]. In addition, GAPDH has been associated with several non-glycolytic cellular regulatory functions, including DNA replication and repair, cytoskeletal organization and apoptosis [13,14].…”

Glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase promotes liver tumorigenesis by modulating phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase

“…In addition to its important role in metabolism, GAPDH is also involved in DNA repair, cell death, autophagy, and apoptosis, depending on its cellular location and posttranslational modifications . Moreover, a study that used Northern blotting to analyze the tumors from eight HCC patients reported elevated GAPDH messenger RNA (mRNA), whereas down‐regulation of GAPDH by antiglycolytic agents or short hairpin RNA (shRNA) has been reported to have anti–cell proliferation effects in colorectal cancer cells and lung cancer cells . However, whether and how GAPDH regulates tumorigenesis, especially in HCC, remains unclear.…”