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de Oliveira C, Martins SFF, Gonçalves PG, Limone GA, Longatto-Filho A, Reis RM, Bidinotto LT. Low EGFL7 expression is associated with high lymph node spread and invasion of lymphatic vessels in colorectal cancer. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19783. [PMID: 37957249 PMCID: PMC10643678 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47132-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies indicate EGFL7 as an important gene in controlling angiogenesis and cancer growth, including in colorectal cancer (CRC). Anti-EGFL7 agents are being explored, yet without promising results. Therefore, the role of EGFL7 in CRC carcinogenesis should be investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of EGFL7 expression in CRC and the signaling pathways influenced by this gene. EGFL7 expression was evaluated through immunohistochemistry in 463 patients diagnosed with CRC and further associated with clinicopathological data, angiogenesis markers and survival. In silico analyzes were performed with colon adenocarcinoma data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Analysis of enriched gene ontology and pathways were performed using the differentially expressed genes. 77.7% of patients presented low EGFL7 expression, which was associated with higher lymph node spread and invasion of lymphatic vessels, with no impact on survival. Additionally, low EGFL7 expression was associated with high VEGFR2 expression. Finally, we found in silico that EGFL7 expression was associated with cell growth, angiogenesis, and important pathways such as VEGF, Rap-1, MAPK and PI3K/Akt. Expression of EGFL7 in tumor cells may be associated with important pathways that can alter functions related to tumor invasive processes, preventing recurrence and metastatic process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiane de Oliveira
- Botucatu Medical School, Department of Pathology, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, 14784 400, Brazil
| | - Sandra Fátima Fernandes Martins
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal
- Colorectal Unit, Braga Hospital, Braga, Portugal
| | - Paola Gyuliane Gonçalves
- Botucatu Medical School, Department of Pathology, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, 14784 400, Brazil
| | | | - Adhemar Longatto-Filho
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, 14784 400, Brazil
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal
- Medical Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM) 14, Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Rui Manuel Reis
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, 14784 400, Brazil
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Lucas Tadeu Bidinotto
- Botucatu Medical School, Department of Pathology, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, 14784 400, Brazil.
- Barretos School of Health Sciences, Dr. Paulo Prata - FACISB, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.
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de Oliveira C, Gonçalves PG, Bidinotto LT. Role of EGFL7 in human cancers: A review. J Cell Physiol 2023; 238:1756-1767. [PMID: 37490307 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.31084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
EGFL7 is a proangiogenic factor. It has been widely described with having a vital role in tubulogenesis and regulation of angiogenesis, mainly during embryogenesis and organogenesis. It has been mainly associated with NOTCH pathway, but there are reports showing association with MAPK and integrin pathways. Given its association with angiogenesis and these other pathways, there are several studies associating EGFL7 with carcinogenesis. In fact, most of the studies have pointed to EGFL7 as an oncogene, and some of them suggest EGFL7 expression as a possible biomarker of prognosis or use for a patient's follow-up. Here, we review the molecular pathways which EGFL7 is associated and highlight several studies describing the role of EGFL7 in tumorigenesis, separated by tumor type. Besides its role on angiogenesis, EGFL7 may act in other pathways as oncogene, which makes it a possible biomarker and a candidate to targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiane de Oliveira
- Department of Pathology, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paola Gyuliane Gonçalves
- Department of Pathology, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lucas Tadeu Bidinotto
- Department of Pathology, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
- Human and Experimental Biology Department, Barretos School of Health Sciences, Dr Paulo Prata - FACISB, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
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da Costa BHB, Becker AP, Neder L, Gonçalves PG, de Oliveira C, Polverini AD, Clara CA, Teixeira GR, Reis RM, Bidinotto LT. EGFL7 expression profile in IDH-wildtype glioblastomas is associated with poor patient outcome. J Pathol Transl Med 2022; 56:205-211. [PMID: 35698739 PMCID: PMC9288890 DOI: 10.4132/jptm.2022.04.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Despite the advances in glioblastoma (GBM) treatment, the average life span of patients is 14 months. Therefore, it is urgent to identity biomarkers of prognosis, treatment response, or development of novel treatment strategies. We previously described the association of high epidermal growth factor-like domain multiple 7 (EGFL7) expression and unfavorable outcome of pilocytic astrocytoma patients. The present study aims to analyze the prognostic potential of EGFL7 in GBM isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype, using immunohistochemistry and in silico approaches. Materials and Methods Spearman's correlation analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas RNA sequencing data was performed. The genes strongly correlated to EGFL7 expression were submitted to enrichment gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Additionally, EGFL7 expression was associated with patient overall survival. The expression of EGFL7 was analyzed through immunohistochemistry in 74 GBM IDH-wildtype patients' samples, and was associated with clinicopathological data and overall survival. Results In silico analysis found 78 genes strongly correlated to EGFL7 expression. These genes were enriched in 40 biological processes and eight KEGG pathways, including angiogenesis/vasculogenesis, cell adhesion, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt, Notch, and Rap1 signaling pathways. The immunostaining showed high EGFL7 expression in 39 cases (52.7%). High immunolabelling was significantly associated with low Karnofsky Performance Status and poor overall survival. Cox analysis showed that GBMs IDH-wildtype with high EGFL7 expression presented a higher risk of death compared to low expression (hazard ratio, 1.645; 95% confidence interval, 1.021 to 2.650; p = .041). Conclusion This study gives insights regarding the genes that are correlated with EGFL7, as well as biological processes and signaling pathways, which should be further investigated in order to elucidate their role in glioblastoma biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Henrique Bressan da Costa
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,Barretos School of Health Sciences, Dr. Paulo Prata - FACISB, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Aline Paixão Becker
- The Ohio State University, Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Luciano Neder
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,Department of Pathology, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paola Gyuliane Gonçalves
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Cristiane de Oliveira
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Allan Dias Polverini
- Department of Neurosurgery, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carlos Afonso Clara
- Department of Neurosurgery, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Ramos Teixeira
- Barretos School of Health Sciences, Dr. Paulo Prata - FACISB, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,Department of Pathology, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rui Manuel Reis
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.,ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Lucas Tadeu Bidinotto
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,Barretos School of Health Sciences, Dr. Paulo Prata - FACISB, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.,UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
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