Dub3 expression correlates with tumor progression and poor prognosis in human epithelial ovarian cancer

Abstract Dub3 is a deubiquitinating enzyme. It is highly expressed in tumor-derived cell lines and has an established role in tumor proliferation. However, the role of Dub3 in human ovarian cancer remains unclear. Expression of Dub3 was evaluated in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. The relationship between Dub3 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. Using RNA interference, the effects of Dub3 on cell proliferation and apoptosis were investigated in ovarian cancer cell line. All normal ovary tissues exhibited very little or no Dub3 immunoreactivity. High levels of Dub3 expression were examined by immunohistochemical analysis in 13.3% of cystadenomas, in 30.0% of borderline tumors, and in 58.9% of ovarian carcinomas, respectively. Dub3 expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and clinical staging ( P