Department of Anesthesia, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, China.
Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, China.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 22;11(1):14934. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-94294-2.
Kidney cancer is the third most common malignancy of the urinary system, of which, kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) accounts for the vast majority. Runt-related transcription factors (RUNX) are involved in multiple cellular functions. However, the diverse expression patterns and prognostic values of RUNX genes in kidney cancer remained to be elucidated. In our study, we mined the DNA methylation, transcriptional and survival data of RUNX genes in patients with different kinds of kidney cancer through Oncomine, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis, UALCAN, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, cBioPortal and LinkedOmics. We found that RUNX1 and RUNX3 were upregulated in KIRC tissues compared with those in normal tissues. The survival analysis results indicated a high transcription level of RUNX1 was associated with poor overall survival (OS) in KIRC patients. Furthermore, KIRC tumor tissues had significantly lower levels of RUNX1 promoter methylation than that in paracancerous tissues, with decreased DNA methylation of RUNX1 notably associated with poor OS in KIRC. In conclusion, our results revealed that RUNX1 may be a potential therapeutic target for treating KIRC, and RUNX1 promoter methylation level shows promise as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, which laid a foundation for further study.
肾细胞癌是泌尿系统中第三大常见的恶性肿瘤，其中肾透明细胞癌（KIRC）占绝大多数。 runt 相关转录因子（RUNX）参与多种细胞功能。然而，RUNX 基因在肾癌中的不同表达模式和预后价值仍有待阐明。在我们的研究中，我们通过 Oncomine、Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis、UALCAN、Kaplan-Meier Plotter、cBioPortal 和 LinkedOmics 挖掘了不同类型肾癌患者的 RUNX 基因的 DNA 甲基化、转录和生存数据。我们发现与正常组织相比，RUNX1 和 RUNX3 在 KIRC 组织中上调。生存分析结果表明，RUNX1 的高转录水平与 KIRC 患者的总体生存（OS）不良相关。此外，KIRC 肿瘤组织中 RUNX1 启动子的甲基化水平明显低于癌旁组织，RUNX1 启动子的低甲基化与 KIRC 的 OS 不良显著相关。总之，我们的研究结果表明，RUNX1 可能是治疗 KIRC 的潜在治疗靶点，RUNX1 启动子甲基化水平有望成为一种新的诊断和预后生物标志物，为进一步研究奠定了基础。
