Bioinformatics Analyses Identify the Therapeutic Potential of ST8SIA6 for Colon Cancer

Chou-Yuan Ko; Tian-Huei Chu; Ching-Cheng Hsu; Hsin-Pao Chen; Shih-Chung Huang; Chen-Lin Chang; Shiow-Jyu Tzou; Tung-Yuan Chen; Chia-Chen Lin; Pei-Chun Shih; Chung-Hsien Lin; Chuan-Fa Chang; Yung-Kuo Lee

doi:10.3390/jpm12030401

Bioinformatics Analyses Identify the Therapeutic Potential of ST8SIA6 for Colon Cancer

J Pers Med. 2022 Mar 4;12(3):401. doi: 10.3390/jpm12030401.

Authors

Chou-Yuan Ko^{1

2}, Tian-Huei Chu³, Ching-Cheng Hsu^{4

5}, Hsin-Pao Chen⁶, Shih-Chung Huang^{2

3

7}, Chen-Lin Chang^{2

3

8}, Shiow-Jyu Tzou^{2

3

9}, Tung-Yuan Chen¹⁰, Chia-Chen Lin^{11

12}, Pei-Chun Shih⁵, Chung-Hsien Lin⁵, Chuan-Fa Chang^{5

12}, Yung-Kuo Lee³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
² Institute of Medical Science and Technology, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan.
³ Medical Laboratory, Medical Education and Research Center, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
⁵ Institute of Basic Medical Science, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Surgery, E-DA Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan.
⁷ Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
¹¹ Clinical Pathology Department, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan 71004, Taiwan.
¹² Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.

Abstract

Sialylation of glycoproteins is modified by distinct sialyltransferases such as ST3Gal, ST6Gal, ST6GalNAc, or ST8SIA with α2,3-, α2,6-, or α2,8-linkages. Alteration of these sialyltransferases causing aberrant sialylation is associated with the progression of colon cancer. However, among the ST8- sialyltransferases, the role of ST8SIA6 in colon cancer remains poorly understood. In this study, we explored the involvement of ST8SIA6 in colon cancer using multiple gene databases. The relationship between ST8SIA6 expression and tumor stages/grades was investigated by UALCAN analysis, and Kaplan-Meier Plotter analysis was used to analyze the expression of ST8SIA6 on the survival outcome of colon cancer patients. Moreover, the biological functions of ST8SIA6 in colon cancer were explored using LinkedOmics and cancer cell metabolism gene DB. Finally, TIMER and TISMO analyses were used to delineate ST8SIA6 levels in tumor immunity and immunotherapy responses, respectively. ST8SIA6 downregulation was associated with an advanced stage and poorly differentiated grade; however, ST8SIA6 expression did not affect the survival outcomes in patients with colon cancer. Gene ontology analysis suggested that ST8SIA6 participates in cell surface adhesion, angiogenesis, and membrane vesicle trafficking. In addition, ST8SIA6 levels affected immunocyte infiltration and immunotherapy responses in colon cancer. Collectively, these results suggest that ST8SIA6 may serve as a novel therapeutic target towards personalized medicine for colon cancer.

Keywords: ST8 sialyltransferases 6; bioinformatics application; biological network; colon adenocarcinoma (COAD); immunotherapy responses; tumor immunity.

Abstract

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