Background: The mRNA expression of genes coding enzymes involved in O-GlcNAcylation were analyzed in urine obtained from 176 bladder cancer (BC) patients and 143 healthy persons.
Methods: MGEA5 and OGT expression was measured by a real-time PCR assay.
Results: OGT expression was not detected in urine of healthy persons but it was found in 51.7% of BC samples. Positive expression of MGEA5 was found in urine of both healthy persons (47.1%) and BC patients (52.3%). Poorly differentiated BC (grade III) showed significantly lower MGEA5 expression than grade I tumors. Contrary, OGT transcript level was significantly higher in grade II and III in comparison to grade I BC. Moreover, there was significant difference in OGT expression between early bladder cancers and invasive or advanced bladder cancers.
Conclusions: These results suggest that analysis of urinary content of MGEA5 and OGT may be useful for bladder cancer diagnostics.