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. 2020 Feb 19:8:e8562.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.8562. eCollection 2020.

The E2F family as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in colon cancer

Haibo Yao  1 , Fang Lu  2 , Yanfei Shao  3
Affiliations

The E2F family as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in colon cancer

Haibo Yao et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Background: The E2F family is a group of genes encoding a series of transcription factors in higher eukaryotes and participating in the regulation of cell cycle and DNA synthesis in mammals. This study was designed to investigate the role of E2F family in colon cancer.

Methods: In this study, the transcriptional levels of E2F1-8 in patients with colon cancer from GEPIA was examined. Meanwhile, the immunohistochemical data of the eight genes were also obtained in the The Human Protein Atlas website. Additionally, we re-identified the mRNA expression levels of these genes via real time PCR. Furthermore, the association between the levels of E2F family and stage plot as wells overall survival of patients with colon cancer were analyzed.

Results: We found that the mRNA and protein levels of E2F1, E2F2, E3F3, E2F5, E2F7 and E2F8 were significantly higher in colon cancer tissues than in normal colon tissues while the expression levels of E2F4 and E2F6 displayed no significant difference between colon cancer tissues and normal tissues. Additionally, E2F3, E2F4, E2F7 and E2F8 were significantly associated with the stages of colon cancer. The Kaplan-Meier Plotter showed that the high levels of E2F3 conferred a worse overall survival and disease free survival of patients with colon cancer. Also, high levels of E2F4 resulted in a worse overall survival.

Conclusion: Our study implied that E2F3, E2F4, E2F7 and E2F8 are potential targets of precision therapy for patients with colon cancer while E2F1, E2F2, E3F3, E2F5, E2F7 and E2F8 are potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of colon cancer.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Biomarkers; Colon cancer; E2F family; Prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The mRNA expression level of E2F1, E2F2, E2F3, E2F4, E2F5, E2F6, E2F7 and E2F8. (A) E2F1; (B) E2F2; (C) E2F3; (D) E2F4; (E) E2F5; (F) E2F6; (G) E2F7 and (H) E2F8.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Transcripts per million (TPM) of E2F1, E2F2, E2F3, E2F4, E2F5, E2F6, E2F7 and E2F8.
(A) E2F1; (B) E2F2; (C) E2F3; (D) E2F4; (E) E2F5; (F) E2F6; (G) E2F7 and (H) E2F8.
Figure 3
Figure 3. The relationship between the level of E2F genes and tumor stages in patients with colon cancer.
(A) E2F1; (B) E2F2; (C) E2F3; (D) E2F4; (E) E2F5; (F) E2F6; (G) E2F7 and (H) E2F8.
Figure 4
Figure 4. The relationship between the level of E2F genes and overall survival in patients with colon cancer.
(A) E2F1; (B) E2F2; (C) E2F3; (D) E2F4; (E) E2F5; (F) E2F6; (G) E2F7 and (H) E2F8.
Figure 5
Figure 5. The immunohistochemical staining data obtained from HPA database.
(A–H) The protein expression of E2f1, E2f2, E2f3, E2f4, E2f5, E2f6, E2f7 and E2f8 in carcinoma tissues. (I–P) The protein expression of E2f1, E2f2, E2f3, E2f4, E2f5, E2f6, E2f7 and E2f8 in adjacent tissues. Positive staining is brown while negative is purple. Image of the colon cancer is magnified 40 times under a light microscope.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Validation of E2F genes in the carcinoma tissues and adjacent tissues from patients with colon cancer using real time PCR. * P < 0.05 vs carcinoma tissue.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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