High GRP78 (78-kDa Glucose-Regulated Protein) Expression Predicts for a Favorable Clinical Outcome in Patients with Multiple Myeloma and May be a Potentially Useful Therapeutic Target in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Abstract

Abstract Background: GRP78 (78-kDa glucose-regulated protein) is a molecular chaperone that is upregulated during cellular stress. It has been well demonstrated that GRP78 upregulation is associated with chemoresistance and metastasis in solid tumours. GRP78 has not been widely explored in multiple myeloma (MM), however, we and others have shown that GRP78 is much more overexpressed in myeloma cell lines compared to other cell lines. To assess the clinical relevance of GRP78 overexpression in MM, we investigated the association of plasma cell GRP78 expression on primary bone marrow (BM) trephines to clinical outcome in patients with MM, and correlate this finding to concurrent..