Clinical significance of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein U1 subunit 70 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Dong Jiang; Xia-Ling Zhu; Yan An; Yi-Ran Li

doi:10.7717/peerj.16876

Clinical significance of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein U1 subunit 70 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

PeerJ. 2024 Mar 15:12:e16876. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16876. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Dong Jiang¹, Xia-Ling Zhu¹, Yan An², Yi-Ran Li³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ultrasound, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
² Hongqiao International Institute of Medicine, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background & aims: Small nuclear ribonucleoprotein U1 subunit 70 (SNRNP70) as one of the components of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) is rarely reported in cancers. This study aims to estimate the application potential of SNRNP70 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) clinical practice.

Methods: Based on the TCGA database and cohort of HCC patients, we investigated the expression patterns and prognostic value of SNRNP70 in HCC. Then, the combination of SNRNP70 and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in 278 HCC cases was analyzed. Next, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of SNRNP70 in nucleus and cytoplasm. Finally, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and scratch wound healing assays were used to detect the effect of SNRNP70 on the proliferation and migration of HCC cells.

Results: SNRNP70 was highly expressed in HCC. Its expression was increasingly high during the progression of HCC and was positively related to immune infiltration cells. Higher SNRNP70 expression indicated a poor outcome of HCC patients. In addition, nuclear SNRNP70/AFP combination could be a prognostic biomarker for overall survival and recurrence. Cell experiments confirmed that knockdown of SNRNP70 inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCC cells.

Conclusion: SNRNP70 may be a new biomarker for HCC progression and HCC diagnosis as well as prognosis. SNRNP70 combined with serum AFP may indicate the prognosis and recurrence status of HCC patients after operation.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Immune infiltration; Prognosis; SNRNP70.

MeSH terms

Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / genetics
Clinical Relevance
Humans
Liver Neoplasms* / genetics
Ribonucleoprotein, U1 Small Nuclear
Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear
alpha-Fetoproteins / genetics

Substances

alpha-Fetoproteins
Biomarkers, Tumor
Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear
SNRNP70 protein, human
Ribonucleoprotein, U1 Small Nuclear

Associated data

figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.25239364.v1

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Training Project (2021GZR003); Medical-engineering Interdisciplinary Research Youth Training Project (2022YGJC001). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.