The RNA M6A-Binding Protein YTHDC1 Is Downregulated and Associated With M2 Macrophage Infiltration in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Overview

Journal Clin Med Insights Oncol

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Oncology

Date 2023 Oct 30

PMID 37901254

Authors

Lamei Zhao

Dongyan Han

Jianghua Zhu

Dexi Bi

Tingting Ding

Xingchen Zhu

Dengfeng Huang

Youhua Zhang

Ling Lu

Weijun Wu

Yaohui Gao

Hu Liu

Qiongyi Huang

Qing Wei

Xudong Yao

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Dysregulation of RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is indispensable in tumorigenesis. However, in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), the key regulators and mechanisms involved in this process remain largely unknown. This study aimed to screen the key m6A regulators and explore its possible role in MIBC.

Methods: Aberrantly expressed m6A regulator genes were screened in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) MIBC cohort (n = 408) and validated using fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens collected during this study. Clinicopathological relevance and association with tumor immune infiltration was further assessed.

Results: We identified that the expression of YT521-B homology-domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1), an m6A RNA-binding protein, was downregulated in tumor tissues compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues in the TCGA MIBC cohort and our clinical samples. Low expression correlated with short patient survival, advanced pathologic stage, lymph node metastasis, basal-squamous molecular subtype, non-papillary histological type, and certain genetic mutations important to MIBC. Remarkably, expression exhibited negative association with tumor-infiltrating M2 macrophage abundance in MIBC.

Conclusion: Among m6A regulators, we identified that YTHDC1 was downregulated in MIBC and might play an important role in the pathological process in MIBC, especially tumor microenvironment regulation.

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