50614

GALNT9

GALNAC-T9;UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 9 (GalNAc-T9);GALNT9;UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 9 (GalNAc-T9)

GalNAc transferase 9|UDP-GalNAc: polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 9|UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 9|polypeptide GalNAc transferase 9|polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 9|pp-GaNTase 9|protein-UDP acetylgal

12q24.33

protein-coding

BACKGROUND: The enzymes encoded by the GALNT [UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-d-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GALNAC-T)] gene family catalyze the first step of O-glycosylation. Little is known about the link between expression of the genes encoding GALNAC-T enzymes and tumor progression in neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer that can be classified as either low or high risk. We assessed the expression of genes in the GALNT family in a large cohort of neuroblastoma patients and characterized members of this family that might be used as new prognostic markers. METHODS: Reverse-transcription PCR analysis of 14 GALNT genes with a panel of neuroblastoma cell lines identified the GALNT9 gene as playing a potential role in disease progression. We used the log-rank test and the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model with a cohort of 122 neuroblastoma patients to analyze the relationship between GALNT9 expression and overall survival or disease-free survival. RESULTS: In the high-risk neuroblastoma experimental model IGR-N-91, GALNT9 expression was present in neuroblasts derived from primary tumors but notin neuroblasts from metastatic bone marrow. Moreover, GALNT9 in neuroblastoma cell lines was expressed in substrate adherent (S)-type cell lines but not in neuronal (N)-type lines. In the tumor cohort, GALNT9 expression was associated with high overall survival, independent of the standard risk-stratification covariates. GALNT9 expression was significantly associated with disease-free survival for patients currently classified as at low risk (P < 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: GALNT9 expression correlates with both improved overall survival inlow- and high-risk groups and an improved clinical outcome (overall and disease-free survival) in low-risk patients. Thus, the GALNT9 expression may be a prognostic marker for personalized therapy.#CI- (c) 2012 American Association for Clinical Chemistry