The functions and prognostic values of m6A RNA methylation regulators in thyroid carcinoma

Abstract Background N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common RNA modification and regulates RNA splicing, translation, translocation, and stability. Aberrant expression of m6A has been reported in various types of human cancers. m6A RNA modification is dynamically and reversibly mediated by different regulators, including methyltransferase, demethylases, and m6A binding proteins. However, the role of m6A RNA methylation regulators in thyroid cancer remains unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the 13 main m6A RNA modification regulators in thyroid carcinoma. Methods We obtained clinical data and RNA sequencing data of 13 m6A RNA methylation regulators from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) THCA database. We performed consensus clustering to identify the clinical relevance of m6A RNA methylation regulators in thyroid carcinoma. Then we used LASSO Cox regression analysis to generate a prognostic signature based on m6A RNA modification regulator expression. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, Gene Ontology and Gene Set Enrichment Analyses were performed to explore differential cellular processes and signaling pathways between the two groups based on risk signature. Results We found that most of the m6A RNA modification regulators are down-regulated in 450 patients with thyroid carcinoma. We derived a three m6A RNA modification regulator genes-based risk signature (FTO, RBM15 and KIAA1429), that is an independent prognostic biomarker in patients with thyroid carcinoma. Moreover, we found that this risk signature could better predict outcome in male than female. Functional research in vitro demonstrated that the m6A RNA methylation regulators involved in the model acted significant role in the proliferation and migration of thyroid cancer cells. Conclusions Our study revealed the influence of m6A RNA methylation regulators on thyroid carcinoma through biological experiments and three-gene prognostic model.

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Molecular Characterization and Clinical Relevance of m6A RNA Methylation Regulators in Cervical Cancer

10.21203/rs.3.rs-113477/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jin Chen ◽

Ji He ◽

Xiaolei Ma ◽

Xia Guo

Keyword(s):

Cervical Cancer ◽

Clinical Relevance ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Critical Role ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Rna Modification ◽

Lasso Regression ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

M6a Rna Methylation

Abstract Background: RNA modification, such as methylation of N6 adenosine (m6A), plays a critical role in many biological processes. However, the role of m6A RNA modification in cervical cancer (CC) remains largely unknown. Methods: The present study systematically investigated the molecular signatures and clinical relevance of 20 m6A RNA methylation regulators (writers, erasers, readers) in CC. The mRNA expression and clinical significance of m6A-related genes were investigated using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) cervical cancer cohort. Mutations, copy number variation (CNV), differential expression, gene ontology analysis and the construction of a mRNA-microRNA regulatory network were performed to investigate the underlying mechanisms involved in the abnormal expression of m6A-related genes. Results: We found inclusive genetic information alterations among the m6A regulators and that their transcript expression levels were significantly associated with cancer hallmark-related pathways activity, such as the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, microRNAs in cancer and the focal adhesion pathway, which were significantly enriched. Moreover, m6A regulators were found to be potentially useful for prognostic stratification and we identified FMR1 and ZC3H13 as potential prognostic risk oncogenes by LASSO regression. The ROC curves of 3, 5 and 10 years were 0.685, 0.726 and 0.741, respectively. The specificity for 3, 5 and 10 years were 0.598, 0.631 and 0.833, the sensitivity were 0.707, 0.752 and 0.811, respectively. Conclusions: Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that the risk score is an independent prognostic marker and can be used to predict the clinical and pathological features of CC.

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Development and Validation of a Unique Gignature of Cancer Stemness-related Genes for Predicting the Overall survival of Colorectal Cancer Patients

10.21203/rs.3.rs-125323/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ran Wei ◽

Jichuan Quan ◽

Shuofeng Li ◽

Zhao Lu ◽

Xu Guan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Overall Survival ◽

Cox Regression ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Cancer Stemness ◽

Poor Overall Survival ◽

Tissue Samples ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

M6a Rna Methylation

Abstract Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are characterized by self-renewal and plasticity, are highly correlated with tumor metastasis and drug resistance. To fully understand the role of CSCs in colorectal cancer (CRC), we evaluated the stemness traits and prognostic value of stemness-related genes in CRC.Methods: In this study, the data from 616 CRC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were assessed and subtyped based on the mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi). The correlations of cancer stemness with the immune microenvironment, tumor mutational burden (TMB) and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation regulators were analyzed. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify the crucial stemness-related genes and modules. Furthermore, a prognostic expression signature was constructed using Lasso-penalized Cox regression analysis. The signature was validated via multiplex immunofluorescence staining of tissue samples in an independent cohort of 48 CRC patients.Results: This study suggests that high mRNAsi scores are associated with poor overall survival in stage Ⅳ CRC patients. Moreover, the levels of TMB and m6A RNA methylation regulators were positively correlated with mRNAsi scores, and low mRNAsi scores were characterized by increased immune activity in CRC. The analysis identified 2 key modules and 34 key genes as prognosis-related candidate biomarkers. Finally, a 3-gene prognostic signature (PARPBP, KNSTRN and KIF2C) was explored together with specific clinical features to construct a nomogram, which was successfully validated in an external cohort. Conclusions: There is a unique correlation between CSCs and the prognosis of CRC patients, and the novel biomarkers related to cell stemness could accurately predict the clinical outcomes of these patients.

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m6A RNA Methylation Regulators Impact Prognosis and Tumor Microenvironment in Renal Papillary Cell Carcinoma

Frontiers in Oncology ◽

10.3389/fonc.2021.598017 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Lianze Chen ◽

Baohui Hu ◽

Xinyue Song ◽

Lin Wang ◽

Mingyi Ju ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tumor Microenvironment ◽

Cell Carcinoma ◽

Risk Model ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Rna Modification ◽

Lasso Regression ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation

Accumulating evidence has proven that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation plays an essential role in tumorigenesis. However, the significance of m6A RNA methylation modulators in the malignant progression of papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) and their impact on prognosis has not been fully analyzed. The present research set out to explore the roles of 17 m6A RNA methylation regulators in tumor microenvironment (TME) of PRCC and identify the prognostic values of m6A RNA methylation regulators in patients afflicted by PRCC. We investigated the different expression patterns of the m6A RNA methylation regulators between PRCC tumor samples and normal tissues, and systematically explored the association of the expression patterns of these genes with TME cell-infiltrating characteristics. Additionally, we used LASSO regression to construct a risk signature based upon the m6A RNA methylation modulators. Two-gene prognostic risk model including IGF2BP3 and HNRNPC was constructed and could predict overall survival (OS) of PRCC patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. The prognostic signature-based risk score was identified as an independent prognostic indicator in Cox regression analysis. Moreover, we predicted the three most significant small molecule drugs that potentially inhibit PRCC. Taken together, our study revealed that m6A RNA methylation regulators might play a significant role in the initiation and progression of PRCC. The results might provide novel insight into exploration of m6A RNA modification in PRCC and provide essential guidance for therapeutic strategies.

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The N6-Methyladenosine- (m6A-) Associated Genes Act as Strong Key Biomarkers for the Prognosis of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine ◽

10.1155/2021/8715823 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Fei Li ◽

Ping Zhang

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma ◽

Cox Regression ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Pancreatic Tumors ◽

Molecular Characteristics ◽

Main Role ◽

Consensus Clustering ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

M6a Rna Methylation

Background. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) has become the major cause of cancer-related deaths globally. The m6A (N6-methyladenosine) alteration plays a crucial function in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. The role of genes related to m6A and their expression level in pancreatic cancer is not identified yet. The objective of this research analysis is a demonstration of the m6A RNA methylation regulators based as biomarkers for the PAAD diagnosis. Methods. About 23 extensively reported m6A RNA methylation regulators were identified through the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. This identification was based on consensus clustering analysis, protein-protein integration (PPI) analysis, risk prognostic model, Cox-regression analysis, String Spearman analysis, and LASSO Cox-regression. Results. Herein, we conclude that 23 m6A methylation regulators have a strong link with the clinical and molecular characteristics of PAAD. The three subgroups (1/2) of pancreatic adenocarcinoma were identified using the clustering of 23 m6A regulators. Subgroup cluster 2 had a lower survival rate than the subgroup of cluster 1, and the difference in grades between the two groups was substantial. An assessment was performed using the 23 reported m6A methylation regulators. Eight of these can be used as independent PAAD prognostic markers. The consequences of variable IGF2BP3 expression in PAAD were then investigated further. Conclusions. The key finding of this study was that the m6A methylation regulator gene has the main role in pancreatic tumors, and it may be used as a biomarker in the prognosis of the PAAD and for therapy purposes.

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Identification of a m6A RNA methylation regulators-based signature for predicting the prognosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma

10.21203/rs.3.rs-50655/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yue Zhou ◽

Shuyan Li ◽

Liqing Zou ◽

Tiantian Guo ◽

Xi Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Esophageal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Clustering Analysis ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Clinical Information ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Consensus Clustering ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

M6a Rna Methylation

Abstract BackgroundN6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an abundant modification in RNAs that affects RNA metabolism, and it is reported to be closely related to cancer occurrence and metastasis. The aim of this study was to identify novel prognostic biomarkers by using m6A RNA methylation regulators capable of improving the risk-stratification criteria of survival for esophageal adenocarcinoma patients.MethodsThe gene expression data of 16 m6A methylation regulators and its relevant clinical information were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The expression pattern of these m6A methylation regulators was evaluated. Consensus clustering analysis was conducted to identify clusters of esophageal adenocarcinoma patients with different prognosis. Univariate, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to construct multiple-gene risk signature. A survival analysis was carried out to determine the prognosis significance.ResultsTen m6A methylation regulators (HNRNPA2B1, HNRNPC, YTHDF1, METTL3, YTHDF2, RBM15, YTHDC1, WTAP, KIAA1429 and YTHDF3) showed significant up-regulation in tumor tissue. Consensus clustering analysis identified three clusters of esophageal adenocarcinoma patients with different overall survival. A five-gene signature, HNRNPA2B1, KIAA1429, WTAP, METTL16 and ALKBH5, was constructed to serve as a prognostic indicator for distinguish esophageal adenocarcinoma patients with different prognosis. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve which indicated the area under the curve (AUC) were 0.803, demonstrated that the prognostic signature had preferable prediction efficiency.Conclusionsm6A methylation regulators exert as potential biomarkers for prognostic stratification of esophageal adenocarcinoma patients and might help clinicians make individualized therapy for this patient population.

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Prognostic Value of an m6A RNA Methylation Regulator-Based Signature in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2020/2053902 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Xiaomin Wu ◽

Xiaojing Zhang ◽

Leilei Tao ◽

Xichao Dai ◽

Ping Chen

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Prognostic Signature ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

M6a Rna Methylation ◽

Cluster 2

Purposes. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Recent researches have demonstrated that m6A methylation regulators play a key role in various cancers, such as gastric cancer and colon adenocarcinoma. Several m6A methylation regulators are reported to predict the prognosis of HCC. Therefore, there is a need to further identify the predictive value of m6A methylation regulators in HCC. Methods. We utilized The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to obtain the gene expression profile of m6A RNA methylation regulators and clinical information for patients with HCC. Besides, we identified two clusters of HCC with various clinical factors by consensus clustering analysis. Then the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and the Cox regression analysis were applied to construct a prognostic signature. Results. Except for ZC3H13 and METTL14, a majority of the thirteen m6A RNA methylation regulators were significantly overexpressed in HCC specimens. HCC patients were classified into two groups (cluster 1 and cluster 2). The cluster 1 was with a significantly worse prognosis than cluster 2, and most of the 13 known m6A RNA methylation regulators were upregulated in cluster 1. Besides, we developed a prognostic signature consisting of YTHDF2, YTHDF1, METTL3, KIAA1429, and ZC3H13, which could successfully differentiate high-risk patients. More importantly, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the signature-based risk score was an independent prognostic factor for patients with HCC. Conclusions. Our study showed these five m6A RNA methylation regulators can be used as practical and reliable prognostic tools of HCC, which might have potential value for therapeutic strategies.

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Integrative Analysis of Biomarkers Through Machine Learning Identifies Stemness Features in Colorectal Cancer

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology ◽

10.3389/fcell.2021.724860 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Ran Wei ◽

Jichuan Quan ◽

Shuofeng Li ◽

Hengchang Liu ◽

Xu Guan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Stage Iv ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Poor Overall Survival ◽

Tissue Samples ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

M6a Rna Methylation ◽

Highly Correlated

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are characterized by self-renewal and plasticity, are highly correlated with tumor metastasis and drug resistance. To fully understand the role of CSCs in colorectal cancer (CRC), we evaluated the stemness traits and prognostic value of stemness-related genes in CRC.Methods: In this study, the data from 616 CRC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were assessed and subtyped based on the mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi). The correlations of cancer stemness with the immune microenvironment, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation regulators were analyzed. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify the crucial stemness-related genes and modules. Furthermore, a prognostic expression signature was constructed using the Lasso-penalized Cox regression analysis. The signature was validated via multiplex immunofluorescence staining of tissue samples in an independent cohort of 48 CRC patients.Results: This study suggests that high-mRNAsi scores are associated with poor overall survival in stage IV CRC patients. Moreover, the levels of TMB and m6A RNA methylation regulators were positively correlated with mRNAsi scores, and low-mRNAsi scores were characterized by increased immune activity in CRC. The analysis identified 34 key genes as candidate prognosis biomarkers. Finally, a three-gene prognostic signature (PARPBP, KNSTRN, and KIF2C) was explored together with specific clinical features to construct a nomogram, which was successfully validated in an external cohort.Conclusion: There is a unique correlation between CSCs and the prognosis of CRC patients, and the novel biomarkers related to cell stemness could accurately predict the clinical outcomes of these patients.

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The m6A RNA methylation regulates oncogenic signaling pathways driving cell malignant transformation and carcinogenesis

Molecular Cancer ◽

10.1186/s12943-021-01356-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Burhan Uddin ◽

Zhishan Wang ◽

Chengfeng Yang

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathways ◽

Malignant Transformation ◽

Noncoding Rna ◽

Rna Modification ◽

Oncogenic Signaling ◽

Aberrant Expression ◽

Rna Methylation ◽

Rna Molecules ◽

M6a Rna Methylation ◽

Oncogenic Signaling Pathways

AbstractThe m6A RNA methylation is the most prevalent internal modification in mammalian mRNAs which plays critical biological roles by regulating vital cellular processes. Dysregulations of the m6A modification due to aberrant expression of its regulatory proteins are frequently observed in many pathological conditions, particularly in cancer. Normal cells undergo malignant transformation via activation or modulation of different oncogenic signaling pathways through complex mechanisms. Accumulating evidence showing regulation of oncogenic signaling pathways at the epitranscriptomic level has added an extra layer of the complexity. In particular, recent studies demonstrated that, in many types of cancers various oncogenic signaling pathways are modulated by the m6A modification in the target mRNAs as well as noncoding RNA transcripts. m6A modifications in these RNA molecules control their fate and metabolism by regulating their stability, translation or subcellular localizations. In this review we discussed recent exciting studies on oncogenic signaling pathways that are modulated by the m6A RNA modification and/or their regulators in cancer and provided perspectives for further studies. The regulation of oncogenic signaling pathways by the m6A modification and its regulators also render them as potential druggable targets for the treatment of cancer.

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Identification of the angiogenesis related genes for predicting prognosis of patients with gastric cancer

BMC Gastroenterology ◽

10.1186/s12876-021-01734-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sheng Zheng ◽

Zizhen Zhang ◽

Ning Ding ◽

Jiawei Sun ◽

Yifeng Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Overall Survival ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Risk Group ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Lasso Regression ◽

Sequencing Data ◽

Cox Regression Analysis

Abstract Introduction Angiogenesis is a key factor in promoting tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. In this study we aimed to investigate the prognostic value of angiogenesis-related genes (ARGs) in gastric cancer (GC). Methods mRNA sequencing data with clinical information of GC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The differentially expressed ARGs between normal and tumor tissues were analyzed by limma package, and then prognosis‑associated genes were screened using Cox regression analysis. Nine angiogenesis genes were identified as crucially related to the overall survival (OS) of patients through least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. The prognostic model and corresponding nomograms were establish based on 9 ARGs and verified in in both TCGA and GEO GC cohorts respectively. Results Eighty-five differentially expressed ARGs and their enriched pathways were confirmed. Significant enrichment analysis revealed that ARGs-related signaling pathway genes were highly related to tumor angiogenesis development. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that patients in the high-risk group had worse OS rates compared with the low-risk group in training cohort and validation cohort. In addition, RS had a good prognostic effect on GC patients with different clinical features, especially those with advanced GC. Besides, the calibration curves verified fine concordance between the nomogram prediction model and actual observation. Conclusions We developed a nine gene signature related to the angiogenesis that can predict overall survival for GC. It’s assumed to be a valuable prognosis model with high efficiency, providing new perspectives in targeted therapy.

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Comprehensive Analysis and Prognosis Prediction of N6-methyladenosine-related Lncrnas in Immune Microenvironment Infiltration of Gastric Cancer

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1021150/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jianfeng Huang ◽

Wenzheng Chen ◽

Changyu Chen ◽

Tao Xiao ◽

Zhigang Jie

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Risk Model ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Risk Scores ◽

Rna Modification ◽

Consensus Clustering ◽

Immune Microenvironment ◽

Cox Regression Analysis

Abstract BackgroundN6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification plays an important role in regulating tumor microenvironment (TME) infiltration. However, the relationship between the expression pattern of m6A-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the immune microenvironment of gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. MethodsIn this study, 23 m6A-related lncRNAs were identified by Pearson’s correlation analysis and univariate Cox regression analysis. According to the expression of these lncRNAs, we identified two distinct molecular clusters by consensus clustering and compared the differences of the TME and enriched pathways between the two clusters. We further constructed a prognostic risk signature and verified it using The Cancer Genome Atlas training and testing cohorts. ResultsThe results showed that cluster 1 was associated with tumor-related and immune activation-related pathways. In addition, cluster 1 was also associated with higher ImmuneScore, StromalScore, and ESTIMATEScore. The results of the stratified survival analysis and independent prognosis analysis indicated that the risk signature is an independent prognostic indicator for patients with GC. In addition, it can effectively predict survival status in patients with different clinical characteristics. Furthermore, our risk model showed that low risk scores were significantly correlated with high expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA4), as well as sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g., paclitaxel and oxaliplatin). ConclusionsThis evidence contributes to our understanding of the regulation of TME infiltration by m6A-related lncRNAs and my lead to more effective immunotherapy and chemotherapy for patients with GC.

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