Background: Molecular target therapy has become a hot spot in cancer treatment, finding effective targets for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an urgent problem.
Objective: To detect the expression level of C-C motif chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) in DLBCL and clarify its potential role in the progression of DLBCL.
Methods: Gene expression datas of DLBCL were obtained from TCGA and GEO databases. The relationship between CCL18 and clinicopathologic information of DLBCL was assessed using meta-analysis method. Then we conducted bioinformatics analysis to uncover the biological function of CCL18 and its co-expression genes. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect expression of CCL18 in DLBCL and reactive hyperplasia lymphoid tissues.
Results: The expression of CCL18 in DLBCL was higher than negative control group. The levels of CCL18 were distinct in different molecular subtypes and ages, and patients with higher level of CCL18 had a shorter overall survival than those with lower level. CCL18 and its co-expression genes were enriched in biological function such as cell proliferation, migration, apoptotic, and correlated with NF-κB, pathway in cancer, PI3K-AKT pathway.
Conclusions: CCL18 was up-regulated in DLBCL and related to poor prognosis. CCL18 may act as a valuable target for diagnosis and treatment of DLBCL.
Keywords: CCL18; DLBCL; bioinformatics; immunohistochemistry; meta-analysis.