m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in men. Usually, most PCas at initial diagnosis are localized and hormone-dependent, and grow slowly. Patients with localized PCas have a nearly 100% 5-year survival rate; however, the 5-year survival rate of metastatic or progressive PCa is st...

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Main Authors: Yingchun Liang, Xiaohua Zhang, Chenkai Ma, Jimeng Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-08-01
Series:Cancers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/16/4035
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author Yingchun Liang
Xiaohua Zhang
Chenkai Ma
Jimeng Hu
author_facet Yingchun Liang
Xiaohua Zhang
Chenkai Ma
Jimeng Hu
author_sort Yingchun Liang
collection DOAJ
description Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in men. Usually, most PCas at initial diagnosis are localized and hormone-dependent, and grow slowly. Patients with localized PCas have a nearly 100% 5-year survival rate; however, the 5-year survival rate of metastatic or progressive PCa is still dismal. N6-methyladenosine (m<sup>6</sup>A) is the most common post-transcriptional mRNA modification and is dynamically regulated by m<sup>6</sup>A regulators. A few studies have shown that the abnormal expression of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators is significantly associated with cancer progression and immune cell infiltration, but the roles of these regulators in PCa remain unclear. Here, we examined the expression profiles and methylation levels of 21 m<sup>6</sup>A regulators across the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), 495 PCas by consensus clustering, and correlated the expression of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators with PCa progression and immune cell infiltration. Consensus clustering was applied for subtyping Pca samples into clusters based on the expression profiles of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators. Each subtype’s signature genes were obtained by a pairwise differential expression analysis. Featured pathways of m<sup>6</sup>A subtypes were predicted by Gene Ontology. The m<sup>6</sup>A score was developed to predict m<sup>6</sup>A activation. The association of the m<sup>6</sup>A score with patients’ survival, metastasis and immune cell infiltration was also investigated. We identified three distinct clusters in PCa based on the expression profiles of 21 m<sup>6</sup>A regulators by consensus clustering. The differential expression and pathway analyses on the three clusters uncovered the m<sup>6</sup>A regulators involved in metabolic processes and immune responses in PCa. Moreover, we developed an m<sup>6</sup>A score to evaluate the m<sup>6</sup>A regulator activation for PCa. The m<sup>6</sup>A score is significantly associated with Gleason scores and metastasis in PCa. The predictive capacity of the m<sup>6</sup>A score on PCa metastasis was also validated in another independent cohort with an area under the curve of 89.5%. Hence, our study revealed the critical role of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators in PCa progression and the m<sup>6</sup>A score is a promising predictive biomarker for PCa metastasis.
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spelling doaj.art-3114c174cc8245c398fd394b51d9c5852023-11-30T21:05:03ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942022-08-011416403510.3390/cancers14164035m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate CancerYingchun Liang0Xiaohua Zhang1Chenkai Ma2Jimeng Hu3Department of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 12 WuLuMuQi Middle Road, Shanghai 200040, ChinaDepartment of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 12 WuLuMuQi Middle Road, Shanghai 200040, ChinaMolecular Diagnostic Solution, Nutrition and Health, Health and Biosecurity, CSIRO, North Ryde 2113, AustraliaDepartment of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 12 WuLuMuQi Middle Road, Shanghai 200040, ChinaProstate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in men. Usually, most PCas at initial diagnosis are localized and hormone-dependent, and grow slowly. Patients with localized PCas have a nearly 100% 5-year survival rate; however, the 5-year survival rate of metastatic or progressive PCa is still dismal. N6-methyladenosine (m<sup>6</sup>A) is the most common post-transcriptional mRNA modification and is dynamically regulated by m<sup>6</sup>A regulators. A few studies have shown that the abnormal expression of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators is significantly associated with cancer progression and immune cell infiltration, but the roles of these regulators in PCa remain unclear. Here, we examined the expression profiles and methylation levels of 21 m<sup>6</sup>A regulators across the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), 495 PCas by consensus clustering, and correlated the expression of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators with PCa progression and immune cell infiltration. Consensus clustering was applied for subtyping Pca samples into clusters based on the expression profiles of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators. Each subtype’s signature genes were obtained by a pairwise differential expression analysis. Featured pathways of m<sup>6</sup>A subtypes were predicted by Gene Ontology. The m<sup>6</sup>A score was developed to predict m<sup>6</sup>A activation. The association of the m<sup>6</sup>A score with patients’ survival, metastasis and immune cell infiltration was also investigated. We identified three distinct clusters in PCa based on the expression profiles of 21 m<sup>6</sup>A regulators by consensus clustering. The differential expression and pathway analyses on the three clusters uncovered the m<sup>6</sup>A regulators involved in metabolic processes and immune responses in PCa. Moreover, we developed an m<sup>6</sup>A score to evaluate the m<sup>6</sup>A regulator activation for PCa. The m<sup>6</sup>A score is significantly associated with Gleason scores and metastasis in PCa. The predictive capacity of the m<sup>6</sup>A score on PCa metastasis was also validated in another independent cohort with an area under the curve of 89.5%. Hence, our study revealed the critical role of m<sup>6</sup>A regulators in PCa progression and the m<sup>6</sup>A score is a promising predictive biomarker for PCa metastasis.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/16/4035prostate cancermetastasisbiomarkerm<sup>6</sup>Amethylationimmune cell infiltration
spellingShingle Yingchun Liang
Xiaohua Zhang
Chenkai Ma
Jimeng Hu
m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer
Cancers
prostate cancer
metastasis
biomarker
m<sup>6</sup>A
methylation
immune cell infiltration
title m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer
title_full m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer
title_fullStr m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer
title_full_unstemmed m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer
title_short m<sup>6</sup>A Methylation Regulators Are Predictive Biomarkers for Tumour Metastasis in Prostate Cancer
title_sort m sup 6 sup a methylation regulators are predictive biomarkers for tumour metastasis in prostate cancer
topic prostate cancer
metastasis
biomarker
m<sup>6</sup>A
methylation
immune cell infiltration
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/16/4035
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