Glycosyltransferase B4GALNT2 as a Predictor of Good Prognosis in Colon Cancer: Lessons from Databases.

BACKGROUND

glycosyltransferase B4GALNT2 and its cognate carbohydrate antigen Sd are highly expressed in normal colon but strongly downregulated in colorectal carcinoma (CRC). We previously showed that CRC patients expressing higher mRNA levels displayed longer survival. Forced expression reduced the malignancy and stemness of colon cancer cells.

METHODS

Kaplan-Meier survival curves were determined in "The Cancer Genome Atlas" (TCGA) COAD cohort for several glycosyltransferases, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes. Whole expression data of coding genes as well as miRNA and methylation data for were downloaded from TCGA.

RESULTS

the prognostic potential of was the best among the glycosyltransferases tested and better than that of many oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes; high expression was associated with a lower malignancy gene expression profile; differential methylation of an intronic gene position and miR-204-5p expression play major roles in regulation.

CONCLUSIONS

high expression is a strong predictor of good prognosis in CRC as a part of a wider molecular signature that includes , , , and . Differential DNA methylation and miRNA expression contribute to regulating expression during colorectal carcinogenesis.