Background
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes a heavy disease burden worldwide. Cell division cycle 45 (Cdc45) and its encoding gene (
CDC45
) have been studied for a long time, but their expression patterns and roles in liver carcinogenesis and advanced HCC deterioration are still incompletely understood. This study integrated tissue microarray and bioinformatics analyses to explore the expression and clinical value of
CDC45
and Cdc45 in HCC.
Material/Methods
In HCC, the expression and relationships with clinic-pathological parameters of
CDC45
and Cdc45 were investigated by integrating the RNA-sequencing data, downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Oncomine databases, and tissue microarray with immunohistochemistry staining. Co-expressed genes and genetic alterations of
CDC45
separately obtained from Oncomine and cBioPortal databases were identified to shed light on the potential mechanisms of
CDC45
in HCC.
Results
CDC45
and Cdc45 were both overexpressed in HCC tissues, and the
CDC45
level progressively increased from stage I to III. The survival outcomes of the group with high
CDC45
expression were significantly worse compared with the group with low expression. Amplification and deep deletion were 2 major significant alteration types in HCC patients, and the outcomes were worse in patients with altered versus unaltered
CDC45
.
NUDT1
,
E2F1
,
CCNE2
,
MCM5
, and
CENPM
were identified as the most significantly co-expressed genes.
Conclusions
CDC45
and Cdc45 were both upregulated in HCC, and increased expression levels and genetic alternations of
CDC45
were correlated with worse prognosis in HCC patients.
CDC45
may promote HCC by co-expressing with
NUDT1
,
E2F1
,
CCNE2
,
MCM5
, and
CENPM
.