Upregulation of MED7 was associated with progression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Chen, Zheng-Lin^{a; b} | Ma, Ying-Yu^c | Mou, Xiao-Zhou^{c; *} | Zhang, Jun-Gang^{d; *}

Affiliations: [a] Graduate School of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | [b] School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | [c] Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | [d] General Surgery, Cancer Center, Department of Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding authors: Xiao-Zhou Mou, Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, No. 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China. Tel.: +86 571 85893985; Fax: +86 571 85893985; E-mail: mouxz@zju.edu.cn. Jun-Gang Zhang, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, No. 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China. Tel.: +86 571 85893418; Fax: +86 571 85893418; E-mail: zjg2sy1@163.com.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: MED subunits have been reported to be associated with various types of tumors, however, the potential role of MED7 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was still unclear. The aim of the study was to explore the role of MED7 in HCC. METHODS: In this study, MED7 mRNA expression levels between HCC and adjacent normal tissues were first analyzed by several public datasets. Then we utilized a tissue microarray (TMA) to investigate the clinical role of MED7 in HCC by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Meanwhile, the potential mechanisms of MED7 based on gene-gene correlation analyses were also explored. RESULTS: High mRNA level of MED7 correlated with advanced stage and worse grade of differentiation. IHC results showed that MED7 protein level was upregulated in HCC and associated with Edmondson grade and Microvascular invasion in 330 cases of HCC. GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) analysis revealed that MED7 co-expressed genes participate primarily in ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis, protein targeting, mRNA processing and nucleoside triphosphate metabolic process et cetera. Further analysis also revealed that MED7 mRNA level has significant correlation with immune cells infiltration levels. CONCLUSION: MED7 was upregulated in HCC and correlated with progression of HCC. Meanwhile, MED7 may promote HCC through participating in multiple gene networks to influence tumorigenesis as well as immune response in HCC microenvironment.

Keywords: MED7, hepatocellular carcinoma, tumorigenesis, progression

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-220439

Journal: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 603-611, 2023