Abstract
Background: The BOLA gene family, comprising 3 members, is mainly involved in the regulation of intracellular iron homeostasis. Emerging evidence suggests that BOLA family member 2 play vital roles in tumorigenesis and progression of hepatic cellular carcinoma. However, little known about its roles in ovarian cancer. Methods: In present study, we investigated the expression profiles, prognostic roles, and genetic alterations of three BOLA family members in patients with ovarian cancer through several public databases, containing Oncomine and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis, Human Protein Atlas, Kaplan–Meier plotter and cBioPortal. Then, we constructed the protein–protein interaction networks of BOLA proteins and their interactors by using String database and Cytoscape software. In addition, we performed the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment by the Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery database. Finally, we explored the mechanisms underlying the involvement of BOLA family members in OC by using gene set enrichment analysis. Results: The mRNA and protein expression levels of BOLA2 and BOLA3 were heavily higher in ovarian cancer tissues than that in normal ovarian tissues. Dysregulated mRNA expressions of three BOLA family members were significantly associated with prognosis in overall or subgroup analysis. Moreover, genetic alterations also occurred in three BOLA family members in ovarian cancer. Network analysis and enrichment analysis indicated that three BOLA family members and their 20 interactors were mainly associated with metal-ion binding and protein disulfide oxidoreductase activity. Gene set enrichment analysis indicated that BOLA family members were mainly associated with oxidative phosphorylation, proteasome, protein export and glutathione metabolism in ovarian cancer. Conclusions: In brief, the present comprehensive bioinformatics analysis revealed that BOLA1, 2, and 3 may be new prognostic biomarkers, and BOLA2 and BOLA3 may be a potential therapeutic target of precision therapy for patients with ovarian cancer, but further studies are demanded to certify this notion.