ZEB family is a prognostic biomarker and correlates with anoikis and immune infiltration in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma

• Published in: BMC medical genomics 2024-06, Vol.17 (1), p.153-21
• Main Authors: Lin, Sheng, Chen, Qi, Tan, Canliang, Su, Manyi, Min, Ling, Ling, Lv, Zhou, Junhao, Zhu, Ting
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Anoikis; Anoikis - genetics; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Cancer; Carcinoma; Carcinoma, Renal cell; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - immunology; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - pathology; Cell death; Cell survival; Cells; Cytotoxicity; Datasets; DNA binding proteins; Ewings sarcoma; Female; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic markers; Genetic transcription; Genomes; Genomics; Health aspects; Homeobox genes; Homeotic genes; Humans; Immune response; Immune system; Infiltrating immune cell; Infiltration; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Kidney Neoplasms - genetics; Kidney Neoplasms - immunology; Kidney Neoplasms - pathology; Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma; Lymphocytes; Male; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Metastases; Metastasis; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - genetics; miRNA; Ontology; Physiological aspects; Prognosis; Proteins; Renal cell carcinoma; Transcription factors; Tumor microenvironment; Tumors; Up-regulation; ZEB family; Zinc Finger E-box Binding Homeobox 2 - genetics; Zinc Finger E-box Binding Homeobox 2 - metabolism; Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1 - genetics; Zinc finger proteins
• ISSN: 1755-8794; 1755-8794
• DOI: 10.1186/s12920-024-01895-7

Zinc finger E-box binding homEeobox 1 (ZEB1) and ZEB2 are two anoikis-related transcription factors. The mRNA expressions of these two genes are significantly increased in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), which are associated with poor survival. Meanwhile, the mechanisms and clinical significance of ZEB1 and ZEB2 upregulation in KIRC remain unknown. Through the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, expression profiles, prognostic value and receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) of ZEB1 and ZEB2 were evaluated. The correlations of ZEB1 and ZEB2 with anoikis were further assessed in TCGA-KIRC database. Next, miRTarBase, miRDB, and TargetScan were used to predict microRNAs targeting ZEB1 and ZEB2, and TCGA-KIRC database was utilized to discern differences in microRNAs and establish the association between microRNAs and ZEBs. TCGA, TIMER, TISIDB, and TISCH were used to analyze tumor immune infiltration. It was found that ZEB1 and ZEB2 expression were related with histologic grade in KIRC patient. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed that KIRC patients with low ZEB1 or ZEB2 levels had a significantly lower survival rate. Meanwhile, ZEB1 and ZEB2 are closely related to anoikis and are regulated by microRNAs. We constructed a risk model using univariate Cox and LASSO regression analyses to identify two microRNAs (hsa-miR-130b-3p and hsa-miR-138-5p). Furthermore, ZEB1 and ZEB2 regulate immune cell invasion in KIRC tumor microenvironments. Anoikis, cytotoxic immune cell infiltration, and patient survival outcomes were correlated with ZEB1 and ZEB2 mRNA upregulation in KIRC. ZEB1 and ZEB2 are regulated by microRNAs.