The expression level of lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 (LPCAT1) correlates to the progression of prostate cancer

Abstract Background Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 (LPCAT1), the enzyme catalyzing the reaction in remodeling of phosphatidylcholine (PC) has been reported to express in prostate. However, its diagnostic and prognostic values remain unclear. Methods Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for LPCAT1was performed on the tissue microarray (TMA) slides containing 251samples from 148 patients with various prostatic disorders. The association of expression level of LPCAT1 with the progression of prostate cancer was analyzed. Results LPCAT1 IHC mean score was the highest in metastatic prostate cancer (8.00 ± 1.28), which was significantly higher than that in primary prostate cancer (4.63 ± 3.00, p = 9.73E-07), in high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN, 2.72 ± 2.47, p = 1.02E-12), and in benign prostate (2.68, p = 6.17E-12). The mean score in primary prostate cancer was significantly higher than that in HGPIN (p = 4.09E-04) and in benign prostate (p = 2.74E-04). There was no significant difference in the mean score between HGPIN and benign prostate (p = 0.951). LPCAT1 IHC score also correlated to the tumor grade and stage of prostate cancer. Patients who underwent prostatectomy for prostate cancer and developed biochemical recurrence or clinical metastasis had higher LPCAT1 IHC score than those who underwent prostatectomy for prostate cancer and did not develop biochemical recurrence and clinical metastasis. The association of LPCAT1 with the progression of prostate cancer was independent of patient race and age, PSA level and positivity of surgical resection margins. Conclusions LPCAT1 correlates with the progression of prostate cancer and could be a new biomarker in diagnosis, prognosis and studying the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.