HSP70 Expression Signature in Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Clinical and Bioinformatic Analysis Approach

Abstract

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are cytoprotective against stressful conditions, as in the case of cancer cell metabolism. Scientists proposed that HSP70 might be implicated in increased cancer cell survival. This study aimed to investigate the HSP70 (HSPA4) gene expression signature in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in correlation to cancer subtype, stage, grade, and recurrence, combining both clinicopathological and in silico analysis approaches. One hundred and thirty archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, including 65 RCC tissue specimens and their paired non-cancerous tissues, were included in the study. Total RNA was extracted from each sample and analyzed using TaqMan quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Correlation and validation to the available clinicopathological data and results were executed. Upregulated HSP70 (HSPA4) gene expression was evident in RCC compared to non-cancer tissues in the studied cohort and was validated by in silico analysis. Furthermore, HSP70 expression levels showed significant positive correlations with cancer size, grade, and capsule infiltration, as well as recurrence in RCC patients. The expression levels negatively correlated with the overall survival (r = −0.87, p < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier curves showed lower survival rates in high HSP70 expressor group compared to the low expressors. In conclusion, the HSP70 expression levels are associated with poor RCC prognosis in terms of advanced grade, capsule infiltration, recurrence, and short survival.

Closest horizons of Hsp70 engagement to manage neurodegeneration

“…Severity of PD signs has mitigated in sirtuin-1-transgenic mice due to the activation of HspA4 ( Yang et al, 2022 ). However, HspA4 is not traditionally considered to belong to Hsp70 ( Kaneko et al, 1997 ), although many controversial data appear recently ( Shang et al, 2021 ; Abd El-Fadeal et al, 2023 ). A separate field of study includes epigenetic modifications of the chaperome, but it still remains weakly studied ( Taldone et al, 2014 ).…”