Zhang Zhixue, Sun Yating, Zeng Zhirui, Li Dahuan, Cao Wenpeng, Lei Shan, Chen Tengxiang
Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550009, P.R. China.
Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medicine, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550009, P.R. China.
Mol Med Rep. 2025 Jun;31(6). doi: 10.3892/mmr.2025.13530. Epub 2025 Apr 17.
Liver cancer, a malignant tumor of the digestive system, is a leading cause of cancer‑related mortality globally. Numerous genetic mutations associated with tumorigenesis have been identified, stemming from genomic instability. However, the clinical implications and therapeutic relevance of these mutations remain poorly understood. The present study evaluated the prognostic significance of titin (TTN) mutations in liver cancer by analyzing the mutation landscape of liver cancer tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The association between TTN mutations and drug susceptibility was subsequently examined using the OncoPredict algorithm and Cell Counting Kit‑8 (CCK‑8) assays. Furthermore, the impact of TTN mutations on hepatoma cell biology both and were assessed by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, protein stability assays, colony formation assays, tumor spheroid formation assays and subcutaneous tumor transplantation in BALB/c nude mice. Genetic analysis of the TCGA database revealed that TTN mutations are among the most frequent mutations in liver cancer. Patients with TTN mutations exhibited worse prognoses compared with those with the wild‑type allele. The OncoPredict algorithm and CCK‑8 assays revealed that TTN mutations are associated with altered drug sensitivity, particularly to GSK1904529A, nilotinib, 5‑fluorouracil (5‑FU) and sapitinib. Additionally, TTN mutations were shown to enhance TTN protein stability, decrease intracellular ferrous ion levels and significantly decrease liver cancer sensitivity to 5‑FU both and . The findings indicated that TTN mutations increase protein stability and lower intracellular ferrous ion levels, thereby suppressing ferroptosis and contributing to resistance to 5‑FU in hepatoma cells. These results suggest that TTN mutations are associated with poor prognosis in liver cancer and could serve as a predictive biomarker for liver cancer progression, prognosis and drug resistance.
肝癌是消化系统的一种恶性肿瘤,是全球癌症相关死亡的主要原因。已经鉴定出许多与肿瘤发生相关的基因突变,这些突变源于基因组不稳定性。然而,这些突变的临床意义和治疗相关性仍知之甚少。本研究通过分析来自癌症基因组图谱(TCGA)数据库的肝癌组织的突变图谱,评估了肌联蛋白(TTN)突变在肝癌中的预后意义。随后使用OncoPredict算法和细胞计数试剂盒-8(CCK-8)试验检测了TTN突变与药物敏感性之间的关联。此外,通过逆转录定量PCR、蛋白质稳定性试验、集落形成试验、肿瘤球形成试验以及在BALB/c裸鼠中进行皮下肿瘤移植,评估了TTN突变对肝癌细胞生物学特性在体内和体外的影响。对TCGA数据库的基因分析显示,TTN突变是肝癌中最常见的突变之一。与野生型等位基因患者相比,TTN突变患者的预后更差。OncoPredict算法和CCK-8试验显示,TTN突变与药物敏感性改变有关,尤其是对GSK1904529A、尼洛替尼、5-氟尿嘧啶(5-FU)和沙匹替尼。此外,研究表明TTN突变可增强TTN蛋白稳定性,降低细胞内亚铁离子水平,并在体内和体外显著降低肝癌细胞对5-FU的敏感性。研究结果表明,TTN突变可增加蛋白稳定性并降低细胞内亚铁离子水平,从而抑制铁死亡并导致肝癌细胞对5-FU产生耐药性。这些结果表明,TTN突变与肝癌预后不良相关,可作为肝癌进展、预后和耐药性的预测生物标志物。