Downregulation of Death-associated Protein Kinase 3 and Caspase-3 Correlate to the Progression and Poor Prognosis of Gliomas

Aim: To investigate the role of death-associated protein kinase 3 (DAPK3) and activated caspase-3 in glioma condition. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 was performed on 136 paraffin-embedded glioma samples and 15 normal brain tissues, and the relationship between their expression levels and clinico-pathological features of glioma was statistically analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate their prognostic value and patients′ survival. Results: The expression of both DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 was found suppressed in glioma tissues (P = 0.001 and P = 0.043). Further, DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 expression were markedly correlated with World Health Organization (WHO) Grading (I-II vs. III-IV) of the glioma condition (P = 0.002 and P < 0.001). A significantly positive correlation was observed between DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 expression (Spearman′s correlation coefficient = 0.706; P < 0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that both DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 were significantly associated with the overall survival of glioma patients (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001). In addition, multivariate analysis demonstrated that only DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 protein levels, but not WHO grading, significantly correlated with patients′ survival (P = 0.008 and P = 0.042). Conclusion: Downregulation of DAPK3 and activated caspase-3 is strongly associated with the clinical progression and poor prognosis of glioma, suggesting their use as a reliable clinical predictor.