Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential

At present, surgical resection is the most effective method for the treatment of gastric cancer. However, death caused by inoperable metastasis is still very common, despite research in this area. The mechanisms underlying the occurrence, development, and metastasis of gastric cancer are not fully u...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yanli Zhu, Xue Zhang, Yi Chen, Qianli Liu, Jin Yang, Xiaoxiao Fan, Hanjun Song, Zhuoxin Cheng, Shuang Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-03-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024031864
_version_ 1797259793125081088
author Yanli Zhu
Xue Zhang
Yi Chen
Qianli Liu
Jin Yang
Xiaoxiao Fan
Hanjun Song
Zhuoxin Cheng
Shuang Liu
author_facet Yanli Zhu
Xue Zhang
Yi Chen
Qianli Liu
Jin Yang
Xiaoxiao Fan
Hanjun Song
Zhuoxin Cheng
Shuang Liu
author_sort Yanli Zhu
collection DOAJ
description At present, surgical resection is the most effective method for the treatment of gastric cancer. However, death caused by inoperable metastasis is still very common, despite research in this area. The mechanisms underlying the occurrence, development, and metastasis of gastric cancer are not fully understood. Ezrin, a plasma membrane-microfilament junction participates in a variety of cellular activities and is closely related to tumorigenesis and development. Few studies have explored the relationship between the tumor immune microenvironment and ezrin expression in gastric cancer. In this study, we used proteomic techniques to analyze the differentially expressed proteins between the gastric cancer cell lines MKN-45 and HGC-27 and screened ezrin as the target protein. We collected patient information from The TCGA and GEO databases, and the results showed that ezrin was positively correlated with adverse clinical features. We further explored the relationship between ezrin expression levels, immune microenvironment, and genomic changes. We found that ezrin was involved in immune regulation and genomic instability in gastric cancer. When the expression of ezrin is high, immune cell infiltration also increases. We also predicted that ezrin is closely related to immunotherapy and chemosensitivity. Single-cell transcriptome data showed that the ezrin gene was mainly expressed in B cells and epithelial cells, and the expression of EZR in these epithelial cells was positively correlated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation pathway and Pi3k-AKT pathway score. Through functional verification of the stably transfected cell line constructed by lentivirus, the results of the liver metastasis model in nude mice suggested that high expression of ezrin leads to the formation of more metastatic foci. In summary, our results clarify the prognostic, immunological, and therapeutic value of ezrin in gastric cancer and provide a theoretical basis for more accurate treatment.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T16:22:43Z
format Article
id doaj.art-7aed067c365c4a7181a38d28191e2882
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2405-8440
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T23:15:04Z
publishDate 2024-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Heliyon
spelling doaj.art-7aed067c365c4a7181a38d28191e28822024-03-17T07:57:30ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-03-01105e27155Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potentialYanli Zhu0Xue Zhang1Yi Chen2Qianli Liu3Jin Yang4Xiaoxiao Fan5Hanjun Song6Zhuoxin Cheng7Shuang Liu8Jiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China; Key Laboratory of Microecology-immune Regulatory Network and Related Diseases, Jiamusi 154007, China; Digestive Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University, Heilongjiang Province, Jiamusi 154000, ChinaJiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China; Key Laboratory of Microecology-immune Regulatory Network and Related Diseases, Jiamusi 154007, ChinaJiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, ChinaJiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, ChinaJiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China; Key Laboratory of Microecology-immune Regulatory Network and Related Diseases, Jiamusi 154007, ChinaJiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China; Key Laboratory of Microecology-immune Regulatory Network and Related Diseases, Jiamusi 154007, ChinaJiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China; Key Laboratory of Microecology-immune Regulatory Network and Related Diseases, Jiamusi 154007, ChinaDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University, Heilongjiang Province, Jiamusi 154000, China; Corresponding author. Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University, Heilongjiang Province, Jiamusi 154000, China.Jiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China; Key Laboratory of Microecology-immune Regulatory Network and Related Diseases, Jiamusi 154007, China; Corresponding author. Jiamusi University School of Basic Medicine, Jiamusi 154007, China.At present, surgical resection is the most effective method for the treatment of gastric cancer. However, death caused by inoperable metastasis is still very common, despite research in this area. The mechanisms underlying the occurrence, development, and metastasis of gastric cancer are not fully understood. Ezrin, a plasma membrane-microfilament junction participates in a variety of cellular activities and is closely related to tumorigenesis and development. Few studies have explored the relationship between the tumor immune microenvironment and ezrin expression in gastric cancer. In this study, we used proteomic techniques to analyze the differentially expressed proteins between the gastric cancer cell lines MKN-45 and HGC-27 and screened ezrin as the target protein. We collected patient information from The TCGA and GEO databases, and the results showed that ezrin was positively correlated with adverse clinical features. We further explored the relationship between ezrin expression levels, immune microenvironment, and genomic changes. We found that ezrin was involved in immune regulation and genomic instability in gastric cancer. When the expression of ezrin is high, immune cell infiltration also increases. We also predicted that ezrin is closely related to immunotherapy and chemosensitivity. Single-cell transcriptome data showed that the ezrin gene was mainly expressed in B cells and epithelial cells, and the expression of EZR in these epithelial cells was positively correlated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation pathway and Pi3k-AKT pathway score. Through functional verification of the stably transfected cell line constructed by lentivirus, the results of the liver metastasis model in nude mice suggested that high expression of ezrin leads to the formation of more metastatic foci. In summary, our results clarify the prognostic, immunological, and therapeutic value of ezrin in gastric cancer and provide a theoretical basis for more accurate treatment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024031864EzrinGastric cancerImmune microenvironment modulationMetastatic regulationEpithelial-mesenchymal transformation
spellingShingle Yanli Zhu
Xue Zhang
Yi Chen
Qianli Liu
Jin Yang
Xiaoxiao Fan
Hanjun Song
Zhuoxin Cheng
Shuang Liu
Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
Heliyon
Ezrin
Gastric cancer
Immune microenvironment modulation
Metastatic regulation
Epithelial-mesenchymal transformation
title Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
title_full Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
title_fullStr Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
title_full_unstemmed Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
title_short Ezrin's role in gastric cancer progression: Implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
title_sort ezrin s role in gastric cancer progression implications for immune microenvironment modulation and therapeutic potential
topic Ezrin
Gastric cancer
Immune microenvironment modulation
Metastatic regulation
Epithelial-mesenchymal transformation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024031864
work_keys_str_mv AT yanlizhu ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT xuezhang ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT yichen ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT qianliliu ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT jinyang ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT xiaoxiaofan ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT hanjunsong ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT zhuoxincheng ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential
AT shuangliu ezrinsroleingastriccancerprogressionimplicationsforimmunemicroenvironmentmodulationandtherapeuticpotential