Altered carnitine transporter genes (, , ) expression pattern among lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND

Despite the decrease of morbidity rate of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in recent years, it is still a cancer with poor prognosis. Lung cancers (LCs) are usually diagnosed at a late stage of the disease due to non-specific clinical symptoms. Proper regulation of carnitine levels is important in the context of development and increased risk of cancer cells proliferation. The expression profiles and clinical value of family members in LC remain largely unexplored. The aim of the study was the assessment of , and mRNA expression level among patients suffering from NSCLC. The obtained results were compared with the clinical and the pathological features of NSCLC patients.

METHODS

Through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and bioinformatics studies, the evaluation of carnitine transporting genes (, and ) mRNA levels was performed in order to elucidate their connection to clinical features of patients and influence on overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

The analysis showed a significant difference for the gene of NSCLC patients and for and genes in LUSC patients in terms of sex (P=0.002, P=0.02 and P=0.001, respectively) and in terms of tobacco smoking (P=0.04). Analysis also revealed a significant negative correlation for and genes expression level in the lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) subtype with standardized uptake value (SUV) (r=-0.40, P=0.02 and r=-0.43, P=0.04). The significant downregulation of gene expression compared to normal adjacent tissue was observed for in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and for in both LUAD and LUSC subtypes. The effect of the , and gene expression at the time of diagnosis on the OS time of LC patients revealed that lower expression correlated with a shorter 5 years OS (all P values <0.01). The effects were distinct after division for LUAD and LUSC subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS

The expression levels of genes encoding carnitine transporters are diverse, hinting at a potentially altered carnitine metabolism in LC patients. Notably, this variance is not uniform and exhibits specificity across LC subtypes, with marked distinctions between LUAD and LUSC. The correlation between gene expression levels and OS of patients underlines the prognostic significance of genes within these cancer subtypes.