前蛋白转化酶枯草溶菌素9(PCSK9)的表达与癌症生存:肿瘤学与老年科学交叉领域的一种预后生物标志物
PCSK9 expression and cancer survival: a prognostic biomarker at the intersection of oncology and geroscience.
作者信息
Ungvari Zoltan, Menyhart Otília, Lehoczki Andrea, Fekete Monika, Bianchini Giampaolo, Győrffy Balázs
机构信息
Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Neurodegeneration and Healthy Brain Aging Program, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
出版信息
Geroscience. 2025 Jun 27. doi: 10.1007/s11357-025-01733-3.
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is primarily recognized for its role in cholesterol metabolism; however, emerging evidence suggests it plays a broader role in the regulation of cellular aging mechanisms and the pathogenesis of age-related diseases. Given that cancer is an age-related disease, PCSK9 has garnered attention for its potential impact on tumor progression and patient survival. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of PCSK9 expression across multiple tumor types, assessing its prognostic significance using RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and gene expression microarray data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Cox proportional hazards regression models and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were employed to evaluate overall survival (OS) associations. Our findings reveal that elevated PCSK9 expression is associated with improved OS in breast and ovarian cancers, particularly in Luminal B breast cancer subtypes. Conversely, high PCSK9 expression correlates with worse OS in bladder cancer, renal clear cell carcinoma, melanoma, and pancreatic cancer. Notably, while PCSK9 expression is significantly upregulated in melanoma and bladder tumors, it is downregulated in renal clear cell carcinoma, yet relatively higher expression among renal tumors still predicts poorer survival. No significant associations between PCSK9 expression and OS were observed in colon, liver, gastric, lung, prostate, head and neck cancers, or low-grade gliomas in the available datasets.In conclusion, our study identifies PCSK9 as a prognostic biomarker with distinct, tumor-specific survival implications. Its dual role-associating with improved survival in some cancers while correlating with worse outcomes in others-suggests that PCSK9 may influence cancer progression through context-dependent mechanisms. Future research should focus on elucidating the mechanistic underpinnings of these associations and exploring the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of targeting PCSK9 in oncology.
前蛋白转化酶枯草溶菌素/kexin 9型(PCSK9)主要因其在胆固醇代谢中的作用而被认识;然而,新出现的证据表明,它在细胞衰老机制的调节和与年龄相关疾病的发病机制中发挥着更广泛的作用。鉴于癌症是一种与年龄相关的疾病,PCSK9因其对肿瘤进展和患者生存的潜在影响而受到关注。在本研究中,我们对多种肿瘤类型中的PCSK9表达进行了全面分析,使用来自癌症基因组图谱(TCGA)的RNA测序数据和来自基因表达综合数据库(GEO)的基因表达微阵列数据评估其预后意义。采用Cox比例风险回归模型和Kaplan-Meier生存分析来评估总生存期(OS)关联。我们的研究结果显示,PCSK9表达升高与乳腺癌和卵巢癌患者的OS改善相关,特别是在Luminal B型乳腺癌亚型中。相反,高PCSK9表达与膀胱癌、肾透明细胞癌、黑色素瘤和胰腺癌的OS较差相关。值得注意的是,虽然PCSK9在黑色素瘤和膀胱肿瘤中显著上调,但在肾透明细胞癌中下调,然而肾肿瘤中相对较高的表达仍预示着较差的生存率。在现有数据集中,未观察到PCSK9表达与结肠癌、肝癌、胃癌、肺癌、前列腺癌、头颈癌或低级别胶质瘤的OS之间存在显著关联。总之,我们的研究确定PCSK9是一种具有独特的、肿瘤特异性生存意义的预后生物标志物。它的双重作用——在某些癌症中与生存率提高相关,而在其他癌症中与较差的结果相关——表明PCSK9可能通过依赖于背景的机制影响癌症进展。未来的研究应集中于阐明这些关联的机制基础,并探索在肿瘤学中靶向PCSK9的诊断和治疗潜力。