Basigin (EMMPRIN/CD147) is a multifunctional membrane glycoprotein that is overexpressed in many solid tumors and is involved in tumor invasion and angiogenesis. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the tumor-enhancing activity of Basigin in a gallbladder carcinoma (GC) cell line and in primary GC tissues. A system that blocks Basigin in the human primary GC cell line GBC-SD was developed using RNA interference. GBC-SD cells were transfected with the small interfering RNA that target Basigin, then the proliferative, invasive and migration activities of the cells were assayed in vitro. Additionally, tissue samples from 98 patients with GC and 26 patients with chronic cholecystitis were stained with anti-Basigin antibody for immunohistochemical analysis. Furthermore, the association of Basigin expression with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of the patients was analyzed. siRNA-treated GBC-SD cells exhibited significantly decreased growth ability, invasion and migration capacities compared to control cells in vitro. Moreover, clinicopathological analysis demonstrated that the intensity of Basigin staining in cancerous tissue was significantly associated with the histological type (p=0.02), distant metastasis (p<0.01) and Nevin stage (p<0.01) of GC. A proportional hazards model revealed the survival rate of patients with stronger Basigin expression to be the lowest (p<0.01). These results suggest that Basigin is a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for patients with GC.

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