Zhao Peizhuang, Ning Jiajia, Huang Jun, Wei Binqian, Wang Zhen, Huang Xue
Department of Geriatrics and Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.
Int J Gen Med. 2023 Oct 11;16:4595-4615. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S420715. eCollection 2023.
Microrchidia 2 (MORC2) is a universally expressed molecule that has recently been identified as a chromatin modulator and elevated in many malignancies. However, its prognostic value and immunological role of MORC2 in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) have never been illustrated.
The clinical parameters and MORC2 expression datasets of COAD patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Cancer and adjacent tissue specimens from surgically resected COAD patients were collected, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect MORC2 expression. Differentially expressed genes related to MORC2 were discovered and used for functional enrichment analysis. The diagnostic and prognostic values of MORC2 in COAD were conducted using receiver operating characteristics (ROC), Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis, PrognoScan, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) public databases and nomograms. Eventually, the association of MORC2 with tumor microenvironment was analyzed by using TIMER and GSVA package of R (v3.6.3).
MORC2 expression was upregulated in COAD tissues, and the RT-qPCR results further verified the reliability of our differential analysis at the transcriptional level. Additionally, higher expression of MORC2 was correlated to a poor prognosis for COAD patients. MORC2 was an independent prognostic factor for COAD and could be a diagnostic factor for early COAD. Furthermore, MORC2 expression was positively correlated with immune cells such as NK cells, TFH cells and so on.
The findings demonstrated that overexpression of MORC2 was correlated with worse prognosis and immune infiltrates of COAD. MORC2 can serve as a reliable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and a target of immunotherapy for COAD patients.
微睾症2（MORC2）是一种广泛表达的分子，最近被鉴定为一种染色质调节剂，在许多恶性肿瘤中表达升高。然而，其在结肠腺癌（COAD）中的预后价值和免疫作用尚未阐明。
从癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）获取COAD患者的临床参数和MORC2表达数据集。收集手术切除的COAD患者的癌组织和癌旁组织标本，采用定量实时PCR检测MORC2表达。发现与MORC2相关的差异表达基因并用于功能富集分析。使用受试者工作特征（ROC）、Kaplan-Meier生存曲线分析、PrognoScan、基因表达谱交互式分析（GEPIA）公共数据库和列线图评估MORC2在COAD中的诊断和预后价值。最后，使用R（v3.6.3）的TIMER和GSVA软件包分析MORC2与肿瘤微环境的关联。
COAD组织中MORC2表达上调，RT-qPCR结果进一步验证了我们在转录水平差异分析的可靠性。此外，MORC2的高表达与COAD患者的不良预后相关。MORC2是COAD的独立预后因素，也可能是早期COAD的诊断因素。此外，MORC2表达与NK细胞、滤泡辅助性T细胞等免疫细胞呈正相关。
研究结果表明，MORC2的过表达与COAD的预后较差和免疫浸润相关。MORC2可作为COAD患者可靠的诊断和预后生物标志物以及免疫治疗靶点。
