Decreased expression of NDRG1 in glioma is related to tumor progression and survival of patients

The aim of the study was to examine the expression of NDRG 1 gene in glioma samples with different WHO grades and its association with survival. About 168 glioma specimens and 21 normal control tissues were collected. Immunochemistry assay, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were carried out to investigate the expression of NDRG 1 and Myc. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards model were used in survival analysis. Immunohistochemistry showed that Ndrg1 expression was reduced in glioma. NDRG 1 mRNA and protein levels were lower in glioma compared to control on real-time PCR and Western blot analysis (P < 0.001). Its expression levels increase from grade IV to grade I glioma on real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry analysis (P < 0.001) and Western blot. On the contrary, the expression of Myc by real-time PCR and Western blot showed the opposite trend of NDRG 1. The survival rate of Ndrg1-negative patients was lower than that of Ndrg1-positive patients. We confirmed that the loss of NDRG 1 expression was a significant and independent prognostic indicator in glioma by multivariate analysis. NDRG 1 may play an inhibitory role during the development of glioma and may be a potential prognosis predictor of glioma.