YB-1, a new biomarker of glioma progression, is associated with the prognosis of glioma patients

Y box protein 1 （YB-1） is a multifunctional cellular protein expressed in various cancers, and is a po- tential target in cancer therapy. Although there is evidence showing that YB-1 plays a role in human cancers, the clinical significance of YB-1 expression in glioma has not been established. In the pre- sent study, we investigated the YB-1 level in glioma tumors and analyzed the relationship between the YB-1 level and the grade of malignant glioma, with the aim of providing new ideas for the diag- nosis and treatment of gliomas in clinical and basic research settings. A total of 108 patients, com- prising 14, 31, 30, and 33 with gliomas of Grades I, II, III, and IV, respectively, were included in this study. The mRNA and protein levels of YB-1 were found to be significantly different between Grade IV and lower-grade tumors. The YB-1 levels in cerebrospinal fluid were significantly higher in Grades III and IV glioma patients than in Grades I and II patients. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the levels of YB-1 in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, and results indicated that the intracellular distribution was significantly associated with the pathological grade of glioma. A higher level of YB-1 was associated with shortened survival, suggesting that YB-1 plays a role in the progression of human glioma.