Evaluation of <i>CERS2</i> Gene as a Potential Biomarker for Bladder Cancer

Abstract

The ceramide synthase 2 (<i>CERS2</i>) gene has been linked to tumour recurrence and invasion in many different types of cancers including bladder cancer. In this study, the expression levels of <i>CERS2</i> in bladder cancer cell lines were analysed using qRT-PCR and the protein expression in clinical bladder cancer histopathological specimens were examined via immunohistochemistry. The potential utility of <i>CERS2</i> as a predictive biomarker of response to oncolytic virotherapy was assessed by correlating the <i>CERS2</i> mRNA expression to IC₅₀ values of cells treated with the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), AF2240 strain. This study demonstrates that <i>CERS2</i> is differentially expressed in different types of bladder cancer cell lines and that the siRNA-mediated downregulation of the expression of <i>CERS2</i> reduces the migratory potential of UMUC1 bladder cancer cells. However, there were no significant correlations between the expression levels of the CERS2 protein with bladder cancer grade/stage or between the IC50 values of cells treated with NDV and <i>CERS2</i> expression. Although the utility of <i>CERS2</i> expression may be limited, its potential as an antimigration cancer therapeutic should be further examined.