Upregulated ENC1 predicts unfavorable prognosis and correlates with immune infiltration in endometrial cancer

Abstract

A better knowledge of the molecular process behind uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) is important for prognosis prediction and the development of innovative targeted gene therapies. The purpose of this research is to discover critical genes associated with UCEC. We analyzed the gene expression profiles of TCGA-UCEC and GSE17025, respectively, using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) and differential gene expression analysis. From four sets of findings, a total of 95 overlapping genes were retrieved. On the 95 overlapping genes, KEGG pathway and GO enrichment analysis were conducted. Then, we mapped the PPI network of 95 overlapping genes using the STRING database. Twenty hub genes were evaluated using the Cytohubba plugin, including NR3C1, ATF3, KLF15, THRA, NR4A1, FOSB, PER3, HLF, NTRK3, EGR3, MAPK13, ARNTL2, PKM2, SCD, EIF5A, ADHFE1, RERGL, TUB, and ENC1. The expression levels of NR3C1, PKM2, and ENC1 were shown to be adversely linked with the survival time of UCEC patients using univariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival calculation. ENC1 were also overexpressed in UCEC tumor tissues or cell lines, as shown by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Then we looked into it further and discovered that ENC1 expression was linked to tumor microenvironment and predicted various immunological checkpoints. In conclusion, our data indicate that ENC1 may be required for the development of UCEC and may serve as a future biomarker for diagnosis and therapy.

Overexpression of zinc finger DHHC-type containing 1 is associated with poor prognosis and cancer cell growth and metastasis in uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma

“…Early diagnosis is often associated with better cancer prognosis since middle- and advanced-stage patients with cancer tend to have poor outcomes. Abundant evidence suggests that inhibiting oncogenes or enhancing the expression of tumor suppressor genes improves the survival time of patients with cancer [ 13 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]. For instance, Yan et al [ 17 ] reported that overexpressing microsomal glutathione S-transferase 1 (MGST1), which is associated with histological type of tumor, hormone therapy, and tumor immune cell infiltration, was linked to better survival outcomes in patients with UCEC.…”

Expression and clinical significance of ENC1 in gastrointestinal tumors: Bioinformatics analysis based on a public gene database

“…Evidence has shown that ENC1 also was one of the key genes involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease ( 19 ). He et al found that upregulated ENC1 predicts unfavorable prognosis and correlates with immune infiltration in endometrial cancer ( 8 ). Further investigation of ENC1 is warranted.…”

“…It has been shown that the expression of ENC1 is significantly increased in breast cancer compared with normal breast tissue, and is significantly associated with the proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells ( 7 ). A study on cervical cancer patients showed that the higher the ENC1 expression level in cancer tissues, the worse the prognosis ( 8 ). Based on the few studies on the effect of ENC1 on gastrointestinal tumors, this study aimed to investigate the expression, clinical significance, and prognosis of ENC1 in gastrointestinal tumors by analyzing the data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), providing a new target for the precise treatment of gastrointestinal tumors.…”

Systems genetics identifies the association between Enc1 and cognitive function in the hippocampus

“…It has primarily been investigated for its role as a regulator of the transcription factor Nrf2 in the oxidative stress response [8]. Previous studies have also shown that it plays a key role in neuronal and adipocyte differentiation, and is involved in many biological processes in cancer, including ovarian cancer [9], endometrial cancer [10], and lung cancer [11]. Interestingly, it is highly expressed in brain tissues including the frontal cortex, cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus compared to other tissues (GTEx, https://gtexportal.org/home/).…”