Methylation-driven genes and their prognostic value in cervical squamous cell carcinoma
ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
Authors: Liu, Jinhui; Nie, Sipei; Li, Siyue; Meng, Huangyang; Sun, Rui; Yang, Jing; Cheng, Wenjun
Abstract
Background: Abnormal gene methylation is crucial for tumor progression. This study explored a cluster of methylation-driven genes involved in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC). Methods: The data on RNA expression, methylation and clinical outcomes of CESC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG analyses were performed to identify the biological functions of methylation-driven genes, and univariable and multivariate Cox analyses to screen out the key prognostic genes. A risk signature was established and its predictive value was evaluated with Kaplan-Meier and ROC curves. The key genes were further investigated by Cox regression analyses, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and methylation site analysis. Additionally, "rms" package was used for establishing nomogram and calibrate curve. Results: We found 144 differentially expressed methylation-driven genes. A risk model was constructed with three key prognostic genes (ITGA5, HHEX and S1PR4). The risk score was an independent risk factor for CESC prognosis. Lowly-expressed and hypermethylated ITGA5, highly-expressed and hypomethylated HHEX and S1PR4 were associated with better CESC prognosis. The methylation sites and biological functions enriched in ITGA5, HHEX and S1PR4 were uncovered. Additionally, the nomogram also validated the performance of risk model. Conclusions: Methylation-driven ITGA5, HHEX and S1PR4 are associated with CESC development. The three genes might serve as potential targets in the treatment of CESC.
RETRACTED: miR-128 modulates hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibition of ITGA2 and ITGA5 expression (Retracted article. See vol. 8, pg. 1919, 2016)
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
Authors: Zhao, Xiaohua; Wu, Yingfen; Lv, Zhiping
Abstract
Dysregulation of miRNAs is a common feature in human cancers, but this phenomenon has not been studied extensively in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). miR-128 has been found to be downregulated in cancer. However its role in HCC remains unclear. miR-128 was underexpressed in HCC tissues and cell lines compared with their normal controls. Additionally, ITGA2 and ITGA5 were predicted as the target genes of miR-128. ITGA2 and ITGA5 were inversely correlated with the expression of miR-128 in HCC cells. Importantly, we demonstrate that the overexpression of miR-128 significantly inhibits HCC cell metastasis and stem-cell like properties via ITGA2 and ITGA5. Our results suggest the existence of a novel miR-128-ITGA pathway and indicate that miR-128 acts as a tumor suppressor during hepatocellular carcinogenesis. These results may provide a promising alternative strategy for the therapeutic treatment of HCC.