Expression of high-mobility group AT-hook protein 2 and its prognostic significance in malignant gliomas

High-mobility group AT-hook protein 2 (HMGA2) is an architectural transcription factor associated with malignancy, invasiveness, and poor prognosis in a variety of human neoplasms. This study investigated HMGA2 expression and prognostic value in human gliomas. We also correlated HMGA2 expression with Ki-67 labeling index and matrix metalloproteinase-2. Expression of HMGA2 in 78 human gliomas and 7 human normal brain samples was studied using immunohistochemistry, and 29 gliomas were randomly selected and studied along with the normal brain by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. Expression of HMGA2 protein was significantly higher in glioblastoma multiforme (World Health Organization [WHO] grade IV; P = .007) and anaplastic astrocytoma (WHO grade III; P = .037) than in diffuse astrocytoma (WHO grade II). Expression of HMGA2 correlated significantly with expression of Ki-67 (r = 0.415, P < .01) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (r = 0.363, P < .01), but not with patient sex and age. The real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis revealed similar results. Patients with tumors expressing HMGA2 at a higher level had a significantly shorter progression-free survival time (11.2 months versus 18.8 months; P = .021). Expression of HMGA2 significantly correlates with tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and survival in gliomas. The results suggest that HMGA2 has an important role in the treatment and prognosis of these cancers.