Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39181686›Full record

ArticleAging2024

UBR1 is a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target associated with immune cell infiltration in gastric cancer.

Weiwei Yuan, Jianye Han, Chen Chen, Yue Qiu, Yuanmin Xu, Yang Huang, Zhangming Chen, Aman Xu, Minzhi Sun

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Aging, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Ubiquitination in cancer: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities.Cancer communications (London, England) · 2025
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Weiwei YuanDepartment of Thyroid Surgery, Baoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201999, China.
Jianye HanDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
Chen ChenDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Public Health Clinical Center, Hefei 230012, China.
Yue QiuDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
Yuanmin XuDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
Yang HuangDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Public Health Clinical Center, Hefei 230012, China.
Zhangming ChenDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
Aman XuDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
Minzhi SunDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Public Health Clinical Center, Hefei 230012, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUbiquitination is a targeted protein modification process mediated by intracellular molecules. UBR1 encodes a protein that binds to unstable N-terminal residues of substrate proteins and contributes to the formation of substrate-linked polyubiquitin chains. However, the function and cellular pathways of UBR1 in tumors have received inadequate attention. This study aimed to investigate the potential of UBR1 as a prognostic biomarker and immunotherapy target for stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) as well as its biological function and molecular mechanism in relation to the disease.

methodsDifferential expression and pan-cancer gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were conducted using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) datasets. The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database was utilized to identify UBR1-enriched pathways in AGS cells and to compare immunohistochemical differences between cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous tissues in gastric cancer. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR) and Western blot (WB) analyses were employed to validate these findings in both cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous tissues of gastric cancer. UBR1 expression in GES-1 and four gastric cancer cell lines was assessed using QPCR and WB. Kaplan-Meier curves, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic and diagnostic roles of UBR1. Additionally, the correlation between UBR1 expression and clinical parameters was analyzed using TCGA and GEO databases. UBR1 mutation data were obtained from the cBioPortal database. The mutation landscape, mutation-associated genes, protein structure, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) correlations were analyzed and illustrated. The biological functions of UBR1 were investigated using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. The correlation between UBR1 and immune infiltration was assessed using TIMER and EPIC computational methods. Protein expression levels of UBR1 in gastric cancer cell lines were determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and WB analysis. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed to analyze mRNA expression. Immunoprecipitation (IP) assays were conducted to detect protein-protein interactions between UBR1 and PDL1, while cellular immunofluorescence was used to observe the co-localization of these proteins. Cell proliferation was evaluated using CCK8 and colony formation assays. Cell migration was assessed using Transwell and wound healing assays. Finally, apoptosis was analyzed using flow cytometry, and WB was used to detect changes in apoptotic proteins and NF-κB P65 pathway proteins.

resultsUBR1 was upregulated in 28 cancer types, including STAD, and its overexpression was validated in gastric cancer cell lines and tissues. UBR1 expression was associated with advanced pathological characteristics. High UBR1 expression was linked to poor prognostic outcomes, including overall survival (OS), progression-free interval (PFI), disease-specific survival (DSS), as well as responses to surgery, chemotherapy, and HER2 expression. UBR1 expression showed significant correlations with clinical parameters such as age, gender, TNM stage, pathological stage, tumor resection, and anti-reflux therapy. Amplifications and deletions were the most frequent genetic alterations associated with UBR1. According to KEGG and GSEA analyses, UBR1 was significantly associated with several cancer pathways, oxidative phosphorylation, and the TNF-NFκB pathway. UBR1 also exhibited a significant correlation with immune cell infiltration and immunotherapy, including a direct interaction with PDL1. Knockdown of UBR1 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of STAD cells and promoted apoptosis.

conclusionsUBR1 is overexpressed in STAD, promoting its progression and positively correlating with immune cell infiltration and immunotherapeutic responses. Therefore, UBR1 could be a promising biomarker for the prognosis and immunotherapy of STAD.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorStomach NeoplasmsCell Line, TumorFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisUbiquitin-Protein LigasesBiomarkers, TumorUbiquitin-Protein LigasesUBR1 protein, humanimmune cell infiltrationimmunotherapyprognostic biomarkerstomach adenocarcinoma (STAD)UBR1

Identifiers

PMID39181686
PMCPMC11386912

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.