Comprehensive analysis of ASB3 as a prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma

Zhongqiang Qin; Fangquan Zhu; Bo Xie; Yang Zhang; Mu Yuan; Peipei Yang; Lan Zhang; Jianzhu Wei; Ziyi Zhu; Zhen Qian; Zhaoying Wang; Longfei Fan; Shuaishuai Xu; Yulin Tan; Jingyu Qian

doi:10.1016/j.tranon.2023.101816

Comprehensive analysis of ASB3 as a prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma

Transl Oncol. 2024 Jan:39:101816. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2023.101816. Epub 2023 Nov 3.

Authors

Zhongqiang Qin¹, Fangquan Zhu², Bo Xie¹, Yang Zhang¹, Mu Yuan¹, Peipei Yang¹, Lan Zhang³, Jianzhu Wei¹, Ziyi Zhu¹, Zhen Qian¹, Zhaoying Wang¹, Longfei Fan¹, Shuaishuai Xu¹, Yulin Tan¹, Jingyu Qian⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, No 287 Changhuai Road, Longzihu District, Bengbu, Anhui Province 233000, China.
² Department of Cancer Center, Lu'an Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Lu'an, China.
³ Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China.
⁴ Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, No 287 Changhuai Road, Longzihu District, Bengbu, Anhui Province 233000, China. Electronic address: jyqian1388@163.com.

Abstract

Background: Some reports have indicated a high expression level of ASB3 in various cancers, but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive.

Methods: ASB3 levels and clinical features were obtained from the TCGA database. Meanwhile, the expression levels of ASB3 in tumor and paraneoplastic tissues were further verified by qRT-PCR and Imunohistochemistry (IHC). ASB3-related downstream molecular analysis was carried out with Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Pathways linked to ASB3 expression were identified by means of gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA) aided in conducting a correlation analysis of ASB3 with immune infiltration. Functional experiments were performed in HepG2 cells by using the small interfering RNA.

Results: ASB3 expression was remarkably higher in HCC tissues. Its remarkable precision in forecasting cancer suggests that ASB3 might serve as an unidentified diagnostic and prognostic indicator of HCC. Higher ASB3 expression led to worse overall survival (OS), particularly in various clinical subgroups of HCC. GO/KEGG analysis indicated that critical biological activities, such as the activation of complement systems and humoral immune response, could potentially underlie the progression of HCC. Furthermore, GSEA demonstrated enrichment of certain pathways, including the MAPK, IL17, and fibrinolysis pathways, in samples with elevated ASB3 levels. ASB3 exhibited a substantial association with T helper cells, dendritic cells (DCs), and central memory T (Tcm) cell infiltration level. Cell function experiments confirmed elevated ASB3 levels in HCC cell lines as opposed to hepatic epithelial cell lines. Moreover, the ability of HCC cells to proliferate and invade was remarkably reduced by ASB3 knockdown.

Conclusion: Summarize briefly, we found that ASB3 can be a promising biomarker in HCC.

Keywords: ASB3; Hepatocellular Carcinoma; Immune infiltrate; Migration; Prognosis; Proliferation.