Comprehensive analysis about prognostic and immunological role of WTAP in pan-cancer

Pan-cancer analysis reveal that m6A writer WTAP involve in tumor cell cycle regulation and tumor immunity

BACKGROUND

Wilm's tumor 1-associated protein (WTAP) is a critical component of the methyltransferase complex responsible for N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in RNA. This modification is involved in various cancer-related biological processes. However, the precise role of WTAP in tumor cell cycle regulation and immune responses remains poorly understood.

METHODS

A comprehensive analysis was conducted using multi-database resources to investigate the role of WTAP in tumorigenesis. Data from 33 tumor types were collected from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) databases. Correlations between WTAP expression and prognosis, immune microenvironment, immune neoantigens, immune checkpoint molecules, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) were analyzed. Additionally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to explore the signaling pathways associated with WTAP expression.

RESULTS

Pan-cancer analysis revealed differential expression of WTAP across multiple tumor types compared to normal tissues. High WTAP expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), brain lower-grade glioma (LGG), liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), and ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OV). In contrast, low WTAP expression correlated with improved survival in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) and thymoma (THYM). WTAP expression demonstrated a positive correlation with immune cell infiltration, including B cells, CD4 + T cells, CD8 + T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, and neutrophils. Additionally, WTAP expression was positively associated with stromal, immune, and overall immune estimate scores. No significant association was identified between WTAP expression and immune neoantigen counts. However, WTAP expression correlated with the expression of most common immune checkpoint genes, DNA mismatch repair genes, and DNA methyltransferases. Furthermore, WTAP expression significantly influenced TMB and MSI levels. GSEA indicated that WTAP predominantly contributes to cell cycle regulation, thereby promoting tumorigenesis.

CONCLUSION

WTAP is a potential immune-related prognostic biomarker in malignancies. Its role in regulating the cell cycle and immune microenvironment highlights its influence on tumor development and progression.

WTAP/IGF2BP3 Mediated m6A Modification of SOD2 mRNA Aggravates the Tumourigenesis of Colorectal Cancer

Wilms tumor 1-associated protein (WTAP) has been validated to be a crucial regulator in the tumorigenesis and advancement of diverse malignancies. This study intended to probe the impacts of WTAP on colorectal cancer (CRC) progression from the perspective of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification. The differential expression patterns of WTAP in clinical CRC samples and cultured cell lines were validated via qRT-PCR and western blot. Cell function tests were conducted with colony formation, transwell, and CCK-8. MeRIP-qPCR was conducted to identify the WTAP-mediated SOD2 (Superoxide dismutase 2) mRNA modification in CRC cells. Animal experiments were adopted to evaluate the function of WTAP in vivo. WTAP exhibited high expression pattern in CRC samples along with cells. Silencing of WTAP potently restrained the growth of CRC tumorigenesis in virto and in vivo. Mechanically, SOD2 was identified as an m6A target of WTAP. WTAP-mediated m6A modification of SOD2 mRNA elevated its stability in an IGF2BP3-dependent manner. Meanwhile, SOD2 overexpression could reverse the tumor suppressive effect induced by WTAP silencing. Molecular therapy targeting WTAP-SOD2 may offer novel insights and perspectives for the treatment of CRC.

High WTAP expression level as a promising biomarker for poor prognosis in colorectal cancer: a pilot study

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major public health concern and identifying prognostic molecular biomarkers can help stratify patients based on risk profiles, thus enabling personalized medicine. Epitranscriptomic modifications play a relevant role in controlling gene expression, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulators play crucial roles in cancer progression, but their clinical significance in CRC cancer has thus far not been elucidated. Thus, we aimed to examine by immunohistochemical techniques and RT-qPCR, protein levels and RNAs expression of m6A writers (METTL3, WTAP) and eraser (FTO) in a cohort of 10 patients affected by CRC. The patients were followed for 5 years and values of METTL3, WTAP and FTO RNAs in alive vs dead patients were compared. Proteins expression and RNAs expression had a different trend, METTL3, WTAP and FTO proteins' expression showed an increasing trend from non-cancerous adjacent (N) tissue vs carcinoma (CA) tissue G1 stage, and then a decreasing trend from G1 to G2 and G3 stages. The most marked increase was observed in WTAP that, from a 40% of protein expression positivity in N tissue raised to the 81% of positivity in G1 stage K tissue. RNAs expression of METTL3, WTAP and FTO genes in N tissue vs G1 stage CA tissue was significantly different, the analysis and comparison of RNAs values in patient alive after 5 years (0.58±0.04) vs patients dead after 5 years (1.69±0.29) showed that only WTAP values resulted significantly high in dead patients. The fact that WTAP protein expression levels lower while WTAP RNA expression remains high, lets us hypothesize a sort of inhibition of protein expression, but further studies are needed to clarify the mechanism. Although the results suggest a relationship between biological meaning and prognostic utility of WTAP, this prognostic utility must be confirmed by further studies on a larger sample.

RNA m6A methylation regulators in liver cancer

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and a primary cause of cancer-related death. In recent years, despite the great development of diagnostic methods and targeted therapies for liver cancer, the incidence and mortality of liver cancer are still on the rise. As a universal post-transcriptional modification, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification accomplishes a dynamic and reversible m6A modification process, which is executed by three types of regulators, methyltransferases (called writers), demethylases (called erasers) and m6A-binding proteins (called readers). Many studies have shown that m6A RNA methylation has an important impact on RNA metabolism, whereas its regulation exception is bound up with the occurrence of human malignant tumors. Aberrant methylation of m6A RNA and the expression of related regulatory factors may be of the essence in the pathogenesis and progression of liver cancer, yet the precise molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this paper, we review the current research situations of m6A methylation in liver cancer. Among the rest, we detail the mechanism by which methyltransferases, demethylases and m6A binding proteins regulate the occurrence and development of liver cancer by modifying mRNA. As well as the potential effect of m6A regulators in hepatocarcinogenesis and progression. New ideas and approaches will be given to the prevention and treatment of liver cancer through the following relevant research results.

The current landscape of m6A modification in urological cancers

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation is a dynamic and reversible procession of epigenetic modifications. It is increasingly recognized that m6A modification has been involved in the tumorigenesis, development, and progression of urological tumors. Emerging research explored the role of m6A modification in urological cancer. In this review, we will summarize the relationship between m6A modification, renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer, and discover the biological function of m6A regulators in tumor cells. We will also discuss the possible mechanism and future application value used as a potential biomarker or therapeutic target to benefit patients with urological cancers.

Circular RNA circDLG1 contributes to HCC progression by regulating the miR-141-3p/WTAP axis

This study aims to explore novel and reliable biomarkers for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) were determined by analysis of human circRNA arrays and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase reactions. To test for an interaction between circDLG1, we used luciferase reporter assays, RNA immunoprecipitation, and fluorescence in situ hybridization assays that were employed to test the interaction between circDLG1, miR-141-3p, and WTAP. q-RT-PCR and western blot were used to evaluate the target regulation of miR-141-3p and WTAP. shRNA-mediated knockdown of circDLG1, proliferation, migration, and invasion experiment of metastasis were used to evaluate the function of circDLG. CircDLG1 rather than lining DLG1 was upregulated in HCC tissues, from HCC patients as well as HCC cell lines compared to normal controls. circDLG1 high expression in HCC patients was correlated with shorter overall survival. Knockdown of circDLG1 and miR-141-3p mimic could inhibit the tumorigenesis of HCC cells in vivo and in vitro. Importantly, we demonstrated that circDLG1 could act as a sponge of miR-141-3p to regulate the expression of WTAP, and further suppress the tumorigenesis of HCC cells. Our study reveals that circDLG1 can serve as a novel potential circulating biomarker for the detection of HCC. circDLG1 participates in the progression of HCC cells by sponging miR-141-3p with WTAP, providing new insight into the treatment of HCC.