Analysis of the prognostic significance of solute carrier (SLC) family 39 genes in breast cancer

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in females and remains a main cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. The solute carrier (SLC) groups of membrane transport proteins, which control the influx of zinc, participate in ranging of physiological processes and may provide novel therapeutic targets of cancers. However, the prognostic values of individual SLC family 39 (SLC39A) genes in patients with BC are not clarified. Materials and Methods: The mRNA expression of SLC family 39 genes in BC was evaluated by using the UALCAN database. The prognostic values of overall survival (OS) of SLC family 39 genes in patients with BC were investigated by Kaplan-Meier plotter. The survival analysis of cells was determined by Project Achilles. Results: The analytic results suggested that SLC39A1, SLC39A3, SLC39A4, SLC39A5, SLC39A6, SLC39A7, SLC39A9, SLC39A10, SLC39A11 and SLC39A13 were significantly upregulated in BC tissues compared with normal breast tissues. However, SLC39A8 and SLC39A14 were expressed higher in normal tissues than in BC tissues. High expression of SLC39A2, SLC39A3, SLC39A4, SLC39A5, SLC39A7, SLC39A12 and SLC39A13 was significantly associated with worse OS in patients with BC. In contrast, high mRNA levels of SLC39A6 and SLC39A14 indicated favorable OS. Through subgroup analysis, all abnormal expressed SLC family members were correlated with prognoses of patients with specific BC. Moreover, SLC39A7 was associated with proliferation and cloning of BC. Conclusions: Our results suggested that SLC family 39 members were promising prognostic biomarkers of BC. The SLC39A7 played a key role in growth and survival of BC cells.

Ferroptosis‐related gene signature associates with immunity and predicts prognosis accurately in patients with osteosarcoma

“… 34 SLCA39 has been reported to play important roles in the development of various malignant tumors, such as esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and hepatocellular cancer. 35 In addition, some studies have indicated that SLCA39A8 plays an important role in the regulation of IFN‐γ expression in T cells and is closely associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. 36 , 37 SOCS1 belongs to the SOCS protein family, which is highly specific in controlling the activity of some cytokines.…”

Zinc transporters and their functional integration in mammalian cells

“…The antibody recognizing phosphorylated ZIP7, the zinc-transporting form ( 113 ), is a reliable marker of aggressive cancer ( 252 ). ZIP7 is also associated with poor outcome in clinical breast cancer samples ( 253 ), consistent with a role in driving these aggressive growth pathways, yet it has also been deemed crucial for enabling the survival of breast cancer patients ( 254 ). Since elevated cellular zinc levels generally encourage cells growth and proliferation, a growing variety of cancers has been associated with upregulations of multiple ZIPs.…”

Annotation of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors with genome-wide expression analysis

“…Some of the genes have also been associated with development of specific tumors, e.g. TAC4 [ 5 ], IGSF1 [ 17 ] and SLC39A8 (ZIP8) [ 24 ]. A prognostic role has also been reported for some of these genes, both negative ( ERRFI1 ) [ 25 ], and positive ( SLC44A3 ) [ 29 ].…”