High expression of ErbB3 binding protein 1 (EBP1) predicts poor prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)

Recent studies have identified that ErbB3 binding protein 1 (EBP1) is broadly expressed in various cancer tissues and critically involved in plenty of biological processes in this regard. However, the functional role of EBP1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has never been elucidated. In this study, we found that EBP1 could serve as a prognostic biomarker of PDAC. Western blot analysis revealed that EBP1 was remarkably upregulated in PDAC tissues and cell lines. Using immunohistochemical analysis, we showed that the expression of EBP1 was correlated with tumor size (P = 0.004), histological differentiation (P = 0.041), and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (P = 0.000). Notably, Kaplan–Meier curve showed that high expression of EBP1 predicted significantly worsened prognosis of PDAC patients (P = 0.001). In addition, knockdown of EBP1 expression suppressed PDAC cell proliferation and retarded cell cycle progression. Furthermore, depletion of EBP1 induced the apoptosis of Panc-1 cells. Of great interest, we found that EBP1 interacted with anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-xL, and promoted its accumulation. In summary, our results suggest that EBP1 is a novel prognostic indicator and potential therapeutic target of PDAC, shedding new insights into the important role of EBP1 in cancer development.