Pan-Cancer Analysis, Reveals COVID-19-Related BSG as a Novel Marker for Treatment and Identification of Multiple Human Cancers

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a public threat and healthcare concern caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. During the period of the pandemic of COVID-19, cancer patients should be paid more attention as more severe events are found in cancer patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Basigin (BSG) is an essential factor for the infection and progression of COVID-19 and tumorigenesis of multiple tumors, which may serve as a novel target for the effective treatment against COVID-19 and multiple human cancers.Methods: A total of 19,020 samples from multiple centers were included in our research for the comprehensive investigation of the differences in BSG expression among human organs, cancer cells, cancer tissues, and normal tissues. Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier curves were utilized to explore the prognosis factor of BSG in cancers. Correlation analyses were used to determine associations of BSG expression with tumor mutational burden, the immune microenvironment, etc. Gene set enrichment analysis was applied to explore the underlying mechanisms of BSG in cancers.Results: Compared with normal tissues, BSG expression was high in 13 types of cancers (cholangiocarcinoma, etc.) and low in colon adenocarcinoma and rectum adenocarcinoma. BSG expression was related to the prognosis of eight cancers (e.g., invasive breast carcinoma) (p < 0.05). The gene also demonstrated a pronounced effect in identifying 12 cancers (cholangiocarcinoma, etc.) from their control samples (AUC >0.7). The BSG expression was associated with DNA methyltransferases, mismatch repair genes, immune infiltration levels, tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, neoantigen, and immune checkpoints, suggesting the potential of BSG as an exciting target for cancer treatment. BSG may play its role in several cancers by affecting several signaling pathways such as drug cytochrome metabolism P450 and JAK-STAT.Conclusion:BSG may be a novel biomarker for treating and identifying multiple human cancers.

Identification of Anoikis-Related Subgroups and Prognosis Model in Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…For example, the expression of BSG has been found to change significantly in many tumors, including cholangiocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma and rectum adenocarcinoma. It has also been associated with the prognosis of eight cancers, including invasive breast carcinoma [44]. Intriguingly, BSG has been identified as a potential target of non-coding RNA in hepatocellular carcinoma tumorigenesis [45,46].…”

A comprehensive investigation on the receptor BSG expression reveals the potential risk of healthy individuals and cancer patients to 2019-nCoV infection

“…Tumors are often accompanied by multiple gene mutations, which leads to progression and relapse from therapy. Moreover, the mutation status of BSG in cancers may affect or correlate the expression of other entry receptors [ 49 , 50 ]. Therefore, we conducted mutation analysis of the BSG gene in pan-cancers.…”

Development of a prognostic signature based on anoikis-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma with the utilization of LASSO-cox method

“…BSG, also known as CD147, is one of the important receptors for SARS-CoV-2 virus entry into human cells, and BSG is expressed up-regulated in COVID-19 patients and in up to 14 tumor types. [27,28] Activation of the CypA/CD147 axis increases the survival of tumor stem cells in several tumor types by activating STAT3, Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, or PI3K/AKT signaling. [29] CD147 promotes glucose metabolism in HCC through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and is associated with immunosuppression of HCC.…”