Expression profile and prognostic values of SMC family members in HCC

An Integrated Framework to Identify Prognostic Biomarkers and Novel Therapeutic Targets in Hepatocellular Carcinoma-Based Disabilities

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors globally, significantly affecting liver functions, thus necessitating the identification of biomarkers and effective therapeutics to improve HCC-based disabilities. This study aimed to identify prognostic biomarkers, signaling cascades, and candidate drugs for the treatment of HCC through integrated bioinformatics approaches such as functional enrichment analysis, survival analysis, molecular docking, and simulation. Differential expression and functional enrichment analyses revealed 176 common differentially expressed genes from two microarray datasets, GSE29721 and GSE49515, significantly involved in HCC development and progression. Topological analyses revealed 12 hub genes exhibiting elevated expression in patients with higher tumor stages and grades. Survival analyses indicated that 11 hub genes (CCNB1, AURKA, RACGAP1, CEP55, SMC4, RRM2, PRC1, CKAP2, SMC2, UHRF1, and FANCI) and three transcription factors (E2F1, CREB1, and NFYA) are strongly linked to poor patient survival. Finally, molecular docking and simulation identified seven candidate drugs with stable complexes to their target proteins: tozasertib (-9.8 kcal/mol), tamatinib (-9.6 kcal/mol), ilorasertib (-9.5 kcal/mol), hesperidin (-9.5 kcal/mol), PF-562271 (-9.3 kcal/mol), coumestrol (-8.4 kcal/mol), and clofarabine (-7.7 kcal/mol). These findings suggest that the identified hub genes and TFs could serve as valuable prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC-based disabilities.

A prognostic and immune related risk model based on zinc homeostasis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The dysfunction of zinc homeostasis participates in the early and advancing malignancy of HCC. However, the prognostic ability of zinc homeostasis in HCC has not been clarified yet. Here, we showed a zinc-homeostasis related risk model in HCC. Five signature genes including ADAMTS5, PLOD2, PTDSS2, KLRB1, and UCK2 were screened out via survival analyses and regression algorithms to construct the nomogram with clinical characteristics. Experimental researches indicated that UCK2 participated in the progression of HCC. Patients with higher risk scores always had worse outcomes and were more associated with immune suppression according to the analyses of immune related-pathway activation, cell infiltration, and gene expression. Moreover, these patients were likely to exhibit more sensitivity to sorafenib and other antitumor drugs. This study highlights the significant prognostic role of zinc homeostasis and suggests potential treatment strategies in HCC.

RIT1 regulates mitosis and promotes proliferation by interacting with SMC3 and PDS5 in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

As a small G protein of Ras family, Ras-like-without-CAAX-1 (RIT1) plays a critical role in various tumors. Our previous study has demonstrated the involvement of RIT1 in promoting malignant progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear.

METHODS

Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted in the TCGA LIHC cohort to investigate the underlying biological mechanism of RIT1. Live cell imaging, immunofluorescence (IF) and flow cytometry assays were used to verify biological function of RIT1 in HCC mitosis. Subcutaneous xenografting of human HCC cells in BALB/c nude mice was utilized to assess tumor proliferation in vivo. RNA-seq, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), mass spectrometry analyses, western blot and IF assays were employed to elucidate the mechanisms by which RIT1 regulates mitosis and promotes proliferation in HCC.

RESULTS

Our findings demonstrate that RIT1 plays a crucial role in regulating mitosis in HCC. Knockdown of RIT1 disrupts cell division, leading to G2/M phase arrest, mitotic catastrophe, and apoptosis in HCC cells. SMC3 is found to interact with RIT1 and knockdown of SMC3 attenuates the proliferative effects mediated by RIT1 both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, RIT1 protects and maintains SMC3 acetylation by binding to SMC3 and PDS5 during mitosis, thereby promoting rapid cell division and proliferation in HCC. Notably, we have observed an upregulation of SMC3 expression in HCC tissues, which is associated with poor patient survival and promotion of HCC cell proliferation. Furthermore, there is a significant positive correlation between the expression levels of RIT1, SMC3, and PDS5. Importantly, HCC patients with high expression of both RIT1 and SMC3 exhibit worse prognosis compared to those with high RIT1 but low SMC3 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings underscore the crucial role of RIT1 in regulating mitosis in HCC and further demonstrate its potential as a promising therapeutic target for HCC treatment.

SMC4, a novel tumor prognostic marker and potential tumor therapeutic target

The structural maintenance of chromosome 4 (SMC4) is a member of the ATPase family of chromosomes. The most widely reported function of SMC4, as well as the remaining subunits of whole condensin complexes, is compression and dissociation of sister chromatids, DNA damage repair, DNA recombination, and pervasive transcription of the genome. Studies have also shown that SMC4 plays an exceedingly essential role in the division cycle of embryonic cells, such as RNA splicing, DNA metabolic process, cell adhesion, and extracellular matrix. On the other hand, SMC4 is also a positive regulator of the inflammatory innate immune response, while excessive innate immune responses not only disrupt immune homeostasis and may lead to autoimmune diseases, but even cancer. To further understand the expression and prognostic value of SMC4 in tumors, we provide an in-depth review of the literature and several bioinformatic databases, for example, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), The Human Protein Atlas and Kaplan Meier plotter tools, illustrating that SMC4 plays a vital role in the occurrence and development of tumors, and high expression of SMC4 seems to consistently predict worse overall survival. In conclusion, we present this review which introduces the structure, biological function of SMC4, and its correlation with the tumor in detail; it might provide new insight into a novel tumor prognostic marker and potential tumor therapeutic target.

Association of SMC4 with prognosis and immune infiltration of sarcoma

OBJECTIVE

This study was performed to explore the prognostic relevance of structural maintenance of chromosomes 4 (SMC4) in pan-cancer and explore the association between SMC4 and immune infiltration of sarcoma.

RESULTS

Elevated expression of SMC4 was detected in cancer tissues compared to normal tissue, which was confirmed in synovial sarcoma tissues with immunohistochemistry (IHC). Additionally, higher expression of SMC4 was connected to worse outcomes of sarcoma, gastric cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer or ovarian cancer. Moreover, SMC4 was positively connected to immune cell infiltrates in sarcoma. In addition, infiltrating immune cell markers including monocyte, TAM, M1 and M2 presented different SMC4-associated immune infiltration patterns.

CONCLUSION

The results from our study showed that SMC4 was positively related to the prognosis and immunological status of sarcoma. SMC4 could be a potential biomarker for prognosis and immune cell infiltrates in sarcoma.

METHODS

Several databases including ONCOMINE, GEPIA, and Kaplan-Meier Plotter were adopted to explore the expression pattern of SMC4 in sarcoma, which was confirmed by IHC. The GEPIA and TIMER datasets were adopted to investigate the associations between SMC4 and prognosis in various cancers, especially in sarcoma.

KNL1 is a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker related to immune infiltration in patients with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma

Background

The incidence and mortality of uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) are increasing yearly. There is currently no screening test for UCEC, and progress in its treatment is limited. It is important to identify new biomarkers for screening, diagnosing and predicting the outcomes of UCEC. A large number of previous studies have proven that KNL1 is crucial in the development of lung cancer, colorectal cancer and cervical cancer, but there is a lack of studies about the role of KNL1 in the development of UCEC.

Methods

The mRNA and protein expression data of KNL1 in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and UALCAN databases and related clinical data were used to analyze the expression differences and clinical correlations of KNL1 in UCEC. A total of 108 clinical samples were collected, and the results of bioinformatics analysis were verified by immunohistochemistry. KNL1 and its related differentially expressed genes were used to draw a volcano map, construct a PPI protein interaction network, and perform gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and immune infiltration analysis to predict the function of KNL1 during UCEC progression. The prognostic data of TCGA and 108 clinical patients were used to analyze the correlation of KNL1 expression with the survival of patients, and KM survival curves were drawn. The UCEC cell lines Ishikawa and Hec-1-A were used to verify the function of KNL1.

Results

KNL1 is significantly overexpressed in UCEC and is associated with a poor prognosis. KNL1 overexpression is closely related to cell mitosis, the cell cycle and other functions and is correlated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, histological grade and other characteristics of UCEC patients. Knockdown of KNL1 expression in UCEC cell lines can inhibit their proliferation, invasion, metastasis and other phenotypes.

Conclusion

KNL1 is a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker associated with immune evasion in patients with UCEC.