Clinical and Translational Research
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Jun 15, 2024; 16(6): 2592-2609
Published online Jun 15, 2024. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i6.2592
Comprehensive analysis of clinical and biological value of ING family genes in liver cancer
Shi-Cai Liu
Shi-Cai Liu, School of Medical Information, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Liu SC collected and analyzed the data, conceptualized, designed, drafted and revised the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by Talent Scientific Research Start-up Foundation of Wannan Medical College, No. WYRCQD2023045.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shi-Cai Liu, PhD, Academic Research, School of Medical Information, Wannan Medical College, No. 22 Wenchang West Road, Higher Education Park, Wuhu 241002, Anhui Province, China. liushicainj@163.com
Received: January 2, 2024
Revised: March 17, 2024
Accepted: April 22, 2024
Published online: June 15, 2024
Processing time: 164 Days and 17.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Liver cancer (LIHC) is a malignant tumor that occurs in the liver and has a high mortality in cancer. The ING family genes were identified as tumor suppressor genes. Dysregulated expression of these genes can lead to cell cycle arrest, senescence and/or apoptosis. ING family genes are promising targets for anticancer therapy. However, their role in LIHC is still not well understood.

AIM

To have a better understanding of the important roles of ING family members in LIHC.

METHODS

A series of bioinformatics approaches (including gene expression analysis, genetic alteration analysis, survival analysis, immune infiltration analysis, prediction of upstream microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) of ING1, and ING1-related gene functional enrichment analysis) was applied to study the expression profile, clinical relationship, prognostic significance and immune infiltration of ING in LIHC. The relationship between ING family genes expression and tumor associated immune checkpoints was investigated in LIHC. The molecular mechanism of ING1 mediated hepatocarcinogenesis was preliminarily discussed.

RESULTS

mRNA/protein expression of different ING family genes in LIHC was analyzed in different databases, showing that ING family genes were highly expressed in LIHC. In 47 samples from 366 LIHC patients, the ING family genes were altered at a rate of 13%. By comprehensively analyzing the expression, clinical pathological parameters and prognostic value of ING family genes, ING1/5 was identified. ING1/5 was related to poor prognosis of LIHC, suggesting that they may play key roles in LIHC tumorigenesis and progression. One of the target miRNAs of ING1 was identified as hsa-miR-214-3p. Two upstream lncRNAs of hsa-miR-214-3p, U91328.1, and HCG17, were identified. At the same time, we found that the expression of ING family genes was correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint genes.

CONCLUSION

This study lays a foundation for further research on the potential mechanism and clinical value of ING family genes in the treatment and prognosis of LIHC.

Keywords: Liver cancer; ING family genes; Noncoding RNAs; Immune cell infiltration; Prognosis

Core Tip: Liver cancer (LIHC) is a malignant tumor that occurs in the liver and has a high mortality in cancer. Comprehensive research of expression, mutation, prognosis, and biological mechanisms of ING family genes in LIHC is still lacking. We studied the expression profile, clinical relationship, prognostic potential and immune infiltration of ING family genes in LIHC. The relationship between ING family genes expression and tumor associated immune checkpoints was investigated in LIHC. The molecular mechanism of ING1-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis was preliminarily discussed. Our results highlight the potential mechanism and clinical value of ING family genes in treatment and prognosis of LIHC.