| Literature DB >> 33082469 |
Xiaomin Li1,2, Junhe Gou3, Hongjiang Li2, Xiaoqin Yang4.
Abstract
Chromobox (CBX) family proteins control chromatin structure and gene expression. However, the functions of CBXs in cancer progression, especially breast cancer, are inadequately studied. We assessed the significance of eight CBX proteins in breast cancer. We performed immunohistochemistry and bioinformatic analysis of data from Oncomine, GEPIA Dataset, bcGenExMiner, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, and cBioPortal. We compared mRNA and protein expression levels of eight CBX proteins between breast tumor and normal tissue. The expression difference of CBX7 was the greatest, and CBX7 was downregulated in breast cancer tissues compared with normal breast tissues. The expression of CBX2 was strongly associated with tumor stage. We further analyzed the association between the eight CBX proteins and the following clinicopathological features: menopause age, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER-2 receptor status, nodal status, P53 status, triple-negative status, and the Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grade (SBR) and Nottingham prognostic index (NPI). Survival analysis in the Kaplan-Meier Plotter database showed that the eight CBX proteins were significantly associated with prognosis. Moreover, CBX genes in breast cancer patients had a high net alteration frequency of 57%. There were significant co-expression correlations between the following CBX protein pairs: CBX4 positively with CBX8, CBX6 positively with CBX7, and CBX2 negatively with CBX7. We also analyzed the Gene Ontology enrichment of the CBX proteins, including biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. CBX 1/2/3/5/8 may be oncogenes for breast cancer, whereas CBX 6 and 7 may be tumor suppressors for breast cancer. All eight CBX proteins may be predictive for prognosis. Clinical trials are needed to confirm the significance of the eight CBX proteins in breast cancer.Entities:
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Year: 2020 PMID: 33082469 PMCID: PMC7576141 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74792-5
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Sci Rep ISSN: 2045-2322 Impact factor: 4.379
Figure 1The mRNA expression of eight CBX proteins in various cancer types in Oncomine. Red: overexpression or copy gain; Blue: underexpression or copy loss. Color intensity indicates the best rank of the gene in the analyses. The number in each cell is the number of analyses that met our thresholds.
Figure 2The mRNA expression of CBX proteins in breast tumors and normal tissues in GEPIA. (A) Eight CBX proteins. Color intensity indicates the mRNA expression of the gene in the tissue. (B) CBX7 mRNA expression on the box plot. (C) CBX7 mRNA expression profile; red: tumor tissue, Green: normal tissue; *P < 0.05 and |Log2 (fold-change)| cutoff = 1.5. We used a log scale to show mRNA expression level.
Figure 3CBX2 and CBX7 protein expression in breast cancer and tumor-adjacent normal tissues. N: tumor-adjacent normal tissues; T: tumor tissues.
Correlation between clinicopathological parameters and (A) CBX 1–4, (B) CBX 5–8.
| CBX1 | CBX2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ≤ 51 = > 51 ( | ≤ 51 > > 51 ( |
| ER | + < − ( | + < − ( |
| PR | + = − ( | + < − ( |
| HER-2 | + > − ( | + > − ( |
| Nodal status | + > − ( | + > − ( |
| P53 status | Wild type < mutated ( | Wild type < mutated ( |
| TNBC status | TNBC > not TNBC ( | TNBC > not TNBC ( |
| SBR | SBR1 < SBR2 < SBR3 ( | SBR1 < SBR2 < SBR3 ( |
| NPI | NPI1 < NPI2 = NPI3 ( | NPI1 < NPI2 < NPI3 ( |
CBXs chromobox family proteins, ER estrogen receptor, PR progesterone receptor, HER-2 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, P53 a tumor suppressor gene, TNBC triple-negative breast cancer, SBR the Scarff–Bloom–Richardson (SBR) grade, NPI the Nottingham prognostic index.
Figure 4Association between CBX2 and clinical stages of breast cancer patients. The y axis: log2(TPM + 1) (TPM: transcript per million).
Figure 5Prognostic values of CBX proteins for overall survival (OS). (A) CBX 1–4; (B) CBX 5–8.
Figure 6The alteration frequency and mechanisms for CBX proteins.
Figure 7Pearson’s correlations for mRNA expression of pairwise combinations of CBX proteins in cBioPortal (B) and bc-GenExMiner (A, C–E). Tables (A), (B) include Pearson correlation coefficients, and p values of the coefficients are shown in Supplementary Table s1. The color scale interprets the correlation coefficient value. (C)–(E) show the correlation between CBX2 and CBX7, CBX4 and CBX8, and CBX6 and CBX7, respectively. r Pearson’s correlation coefficient value; P: P value; No the number of patients.
Biological process.
| Genes | Significant terms | Description | Associated genes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBX1 | GO:1900182 | Positive regulation of protein localization to nucleus | 4.45E−04 | CDK5RAP3, KAT7 |
| CBX2 | GO:0045137 | Development of primary sexual characteristics | 1.14E−03 | CBX2 |
| CBX3 | GO:1905007 | Positive regulation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition involved in endocardial cushion formation | 3.03E−05 | ENG, TGFBR2 |
| CBX4 | GO:0042552 | Myelination | 6.37E−04 | FAM126A, QKI |
| CBX5 | GO:0070317 | Negative regulation of G0 to G1 transition | 4.45E−03 | CBX5 |
| CBX6 | GO:0006325 | Chromatin organization | 1.69E−04 | CBX6, CBX7 |
| CBX7 | GO:0051301 | Cell division | 7.24E−30 | AURKA, BIRC5, BUB1, BUB1B, CCNA2, CCNB1, CCNE2, CDC20, CDCA2, CDCA3, CDCA5, CDCA8, CDK1, CENPE, CENPF, CENPW, CKS2, ERCC6L, FAM83D, KIF11, KIF14, KIF2C, KNSTRN, MAD2L1, MASTL, NCAPG, NEK2, OIP5, PRC1, PTTG1, SGO2, SPC25, TPX2, UBE2C |
| CBX8 | GO:0070125 | Mitochondrial translational elongation | 2.59E−05 | MRPL12, MRPL38, MRPL58, MRPS7 |
CBXs chromobox family proteins, GO gene ontology.
Cellular component.
| Genes | Significant terms | Description | Associated genes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBX1 | GO:0005654 | Nucleoplasm | 1.97E−05 | CBX1, DBF4B, EME1, KAT7, KPNB1, MRPL10, PHB, PNPO, PSMC3IP, SNF8, SRSF1, UBE2Z, UTP18 |
| CBX2 | GO:0000775 | Chromosome, centromeric region | 2.04E−03 | CDCA5, CENPW |
| CBX3 | GO:0005925 | Focal adhesion | 5.69E−07 | ENG, FLNC, FLRT2, GSN, LIMS2, LRP1, STARD8, TNS1 |
| CBX4 | GO:1990907 | Beta-catenin-TCF complex | 7.55E−03 | TLE4 |
| CBX5 | GO:0031618 | Nuclear pericentric heterochromatin | 1.46E−03 | CBX5 |
| CBX6 | GO:0031519 | PcG protein complex | 1.23E−05 | CBX6, CBX7 |
| CBX7 | GO:0030496 | Midbody | 3.45E−17 | ANLN, ASPM, AURKA, BIRC5, CDCA8, CDK1, CENPE, CENPF, CEP55, ECT2, KIF14, KIF20A, KIF23, KIF4A, NEK2, PLK1, PRC1, RACGAP1 |
| CBX8 | GO:0035102 | PRC1 complex | 3.74E−06 | CBX2, CBX4, CBX8 |
CBXs chromobox family proteins, GO gene ontology.
Molecular function.
| Genes | Significant terms | Description | Associated genes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBX1 | GO:0001850 | Complement component C3a binding | 1.33E−03 | PHB |
| CBX2 | GO:0033678 | 5′–3′ DNA/RNA helicase activity | 1.04E−03 | PIF1 |
| CBX3 | GO:0034713 | Type I transforming growth factor beta receptor binding | 1.92E−04 | ENG, TGFBR2 |
| CBX4 | GO:0051525 | NFAT protein binding | 3.75E−03 | PPARA |
| CBX5 | GO:0008486 | Diphosphoinositol-polyphosphate diphosphatase activity | 8.67E−04 | NUDT4B |
| CBX6 | GO:0004046 | Aminoacylase activity | 1.39E−03 | ABHD14A-ACY1 |
| CBX7 | GO:0008017 | Microtubule binding | 8.43E−09 | BIRC5, CENPE, FAM83D, KIF11, KIF14, KIF20A, KIF23, KIF2C, KIF4A, NUSAP1, PLK1, PRC1, RACGAP1 |
| CBX8 | GO:0035064 | Methylated histone binding | 2.48E−04 | CBX2, CBX4, CBX8 |
CBXs chromobox family proteins, GO gene ontology.