Evaluation of sterol‑o‑acyl transferase 1 and cholesterol ester levels in plasma, peritoneal fluid and tumor tissue of patients with endometrial cancer: A pilot study

Vijayalakshmi N Ayyagari; Miao Li; Paula Diaz-Sylvester; Kathleen Groesch; Teresa Wilson; Zvi Pasman; Ejaz M Shah; Andrea Braundmeier-Fleming; Laurent Brard

doi:10.3892/ol.2023.13817

Evaluation of sterol‑o‑acyl transferase 1 and cholesterol ester levels in plasma, peritoneal fluid and tumor tissue of patients with endometrial cancer: A pilot study

Oncol Lett. 2023 Apr 18;25(6):231. doi: 10.3892/ol.2023.13817. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Vijayalakshmi N Ayyagari^{1

2}, Miao Li¹, Paula Diaz-Sylvester^{1

2

3}, Kathleen Groesch^{1

3}, Teresa Wilson^{1

3}, Zvi Pasman⁴, Ejaz M Shah¹, Andrea Braundmeier-Fleming^{1

2

5}, Laurent Brard^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62702, USA.
² Simmons Cancer Institute, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62702, USA.
³ Center for Clinical Research, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62702, USA.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL 62650, USA.
⁵ Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62702, USA.

Abstract

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most prevalent gynecological malignancy. Abnormal accumulation of sterol-O-acyl transferase 1 (SOAT1) and SOAT1-mediated cholesterol ester (CE) contributes to cancer progression in various malignancies, including ovarian cancer. Therefore, it was hypothesized that similar molecular changes may occur in EC. The present study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and/or prognostic potential of SOAT1 and CE in EC by: i) Determining SOAT1 and CE levels in plasma, peritoneal fluid and endometrial tissue from patients with EC and control subjects; ii) performing receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to determine diagnostic performance; iii) comparing SOAT1 and CE expression to that of the tumor proliferation marker Ki67; and iv) assessing the association between SOAT1 expression and survival. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the levels of SOAT1 protein in tissue, plasma and peritoneal fluid. The mRNA and protein expression levels of SOAT1 and Ki67 in tissues were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. CE levels were determined colorimetrically in plasma and peritoneal fluid. SOAT1-associated survival data from the cBioPortal cancer genomics database were used to assess prognostic relevance. The results revealed that SOAT1 and CE levels were significantly elevated in tumor tissue and peritoneal fluid samples collected from the EC group. By contrast, the plasma levels of SOAT1 and CE in the EC and control groups were similar. Significant positive associations between CE and SOAT1, SOAT1/CE and Ki67, and SOAT1/CE and poor overall survival in patients with EC suggested that SOAT1/CE may be associated with malignancy, aggressiveness and poor prognosis. In conclusion, SOAT1 and CE may serve as potential biomarkers for prognosis and target-specific treatment of EC.

Keywords: CE; Ki67; SOAT1; endometrial cancer.

Grants and funding

This research was supported in part by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, of Oak Ridge National Laboratory awarded to ABF and LB. This program is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DEAC05-00OR22725. Funding was also provided by the Simmons Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine through the Team Science Grant (TSG) awarded to ABF and LB.