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Chen M, Li Q, Chen W, Bi J, Huang P. Diagnostic and prognostic value of Beclin 1 expression in melanoma: a meta-analysis. Melanoma Res 2021; 31:541-549. [PMID: 34494606 DOI: 10.1097/cmr.0000000000000780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Autophagy plays a complicated role in the occurrence and development of cancer. Beclin 1 is a significant autophagy-related protein that plays an essential role in tumorigenesis, but its expression is controversial in melanoma. In this meta-analysis, we searched seven studies involving 638 melanoma patients. PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Elsevier, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure were used for literature retrieval. The I2 index was used to assess heterogeneity. The expression of Beclin 1 in the primary melanoma group was significantly lower than the non-tumor group tissues (P < 0.01), while higher than the metastatic melanoma group (P < 0.01). Beclin 1 expression status could not distinguish between patients with melanoma by sex (male vs. female), lymph node metastasis (metastasis vs. non-metastasis), melanin deposition (present vs. absent), ulcer formation (present vs. absent), tumor necrosis status (present vs. absent), and Breslow thickness (<1.5 mm vs. ≥1.5 mm) for the subgroups (all P values > 0.05). Different expression intensities of Beclin 1 did not affect the overall survival and disease-free survival of melanoma patients. This study showed a trend of low expression of Beclin 1 in melanoma; patients with low expression of Beclin 1 were prone to the possibility of distant metastasis. The inconsistent profile of Beclin 1 expression in the prognosis of melanoma patients warrants further clinical investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Qian Li
- Radiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | | | - Jiarui Bi
- Division of Periodontology, Diagnostic Sciences, and Dental Hygiene, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Frangež Ž, Gérard D, He Z, Gavriil M, Fernández-Marrero Y, Seyed Jafari SM, Hunger RE, Lucarelli P, Yousefi S, Sauter T, Sinkkonen L, Simon HU. ATG5 and ATG7 Expression Levels Are Reduced in Cutaneous Melanoma and Regulated by NRF1. Front Oncol 2021; 11:721624. [PMID: 34458153 PMCID: PMC8397460 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.721624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular process in which intracellular proteins and organelles are sequestered and degraded after the fusion of double-membrane vesicles known as autophagosomes with lysosomes. The process of autophagy is dependent on autophagy-related (ATG) proteins. The role of autophagy in cancer is very complex and still elusive. We investigated the expression of ATG proteins in benign nevi, primary and metastatic melanoma tissues using customized tissue microarrays (TMA). Results from immunohistochemistry show that the expression of ATG5 and ATG7 is significantly reduced in melanoma tissues compared to benign nevi. This reduction correlated with changes in the expression of autophagic activity markers, suggesting decreased basal levels of autophagy in primary and metastatic melanomas. Furthermore, the analysis of survival data of melanoma patients revealed an association between reduced ATG5 and ATG7 levels with an unfavourable clinical outcome. Currently, the mechanisms regulating ATG expression levels in human melanoma remains unknown. Using bioinformatic predictions of transcription factor (TF) binding motifs in accessible chromatin of primary melanocytes, we identified new TFs involved in the regulation of core ATGs. We then show that nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) stimulates the production of mRNA and protein as well as the promoter activity of ATG5 and ATG7. Moreover, NRF1 deficiency increased in vitro migration of melanoma cells. Our results support the concept that reduced autophagic activity contributes to melanoma development and progression, and identifies NRF1 as a novel TF involved in the regulation of both ATG5 and ATG7 genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Živa Frangež
- Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Deborah Gérard
- Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Zhaoyue He
- Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marios Gavriil
- Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Yuniel Fernández-Marrero
- Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Biological Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - S Morteza Seyed Jafari
- Department of Dermatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Robert E Hunger
- Department of Dermatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Lucarelli
- Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Shida Yousefi
- Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Sauter
- Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Lasse Sinkkonen
- Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Hans-Uwe Simon
- Institute of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Institute of Biochemistry, Medical School Brandenburg, Neuruppin, Germany.,Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia.,Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
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