ZFC3H1 as an Indicator of Poor Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Bioinformatic Analysis and Experimental Verification

作者：J. Zhao, Cheng Wang, Rui Wu, Zheyu Fang, Rui Dong, Jie Zhou, Zhenhua Hu · 发表于：Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.2174/0113862073317938240729055626 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis、RNA Research and Splicing、Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Background: Zinc finger C3H1-type containing (ZFC3H1) might regulate RNA processes. However, research lacks the prognostic value of ZFC3H1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The study analyzed ZFC3H1 expression in HCC cells and its correlation with patient prognosis using transcriptomics, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR, as well as single-cell RNA expression data. Additionally, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses were used to investigate the potential ZFC3H1-related cellular functions and signaling pathways. The impact of ZFC3H1 expression on the tumor microenvironment and tumor mutational burden (TMB) was assessed using the ESTIMATE algorithm. Cell-based assays, including cell counting kit 8, proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle, wound healing, and Transwell assays, were conducted to evaluate the influence of ZFC3H1 on hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation and migration. Results: ZFC3H1 is upregulated in HCC and linked to tumor progression. High ZFC3H1 expression is a prognostic risk factor for HCC, according to Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. ESTIMATE analysis suggested that ZFC3H1 reduces immune cell infiltration and increases the TMB. Patients with low ZFC3H1 expression might respond better to immunotherapy. High ZFC3H1 expression is associated with increased half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of sorafenib. Functional experiments demonstrated that redu...