Reduced expression of cathepsin F predicts poor prognosis in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 13556 - 13
• Main Authors: Zhou, Xin, Chen, Huayan, Huang, Dong, Guan, Guixian, Ma, Xiaoli, Cai, Weiming, Liao, Jing, Guan, Tangming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12-06-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/114; 631/67; 692/4028; 692/499; 692/53; Bioinformatics; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - metabolism; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - pathology; Cathepsin F - genetics; Cathepsin F - metabolism; Cathepsin F function; Cathepsins; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell migration; Cell Movement - genetics; Cell Proliferation; Clear cell-type renal cell carcinoma; Cysteine; Down-Regulation; Extracellular matrix; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunomodulation; Kidney cancer; Kidney Neoplasms - genetics; Kidney Neoplasms - metabolism; Kidney Neoplasms - mortality; Kidney Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Medical prognosis; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Prognosis; Renal cell carcinoma biomarker; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Tumor microenvironment; Cathepsin F function; Prognosis; Tumor microenvironment; Renal cell carcinoma biomarker
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64542-2

Abnormalities in the extracellular matrix (ECM) play important roles in the regulation and progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The cysteine cathepsin is one of the major proteases involved in ECM remodeling and has been shown to be aberrantly expressed in multiple cancer types. However, the clinical significance and biological function of distinct cysteine cathepsins in ccRCC remain poorly understood. In this study, several bioinformatics databases, including UALCAN, TIMER, GEPIA and the Human Protein Atlas datasets, were used to analyze the expression and prognostic value of different cysteine cathepsin family members in ccRCC. We found that the expression level of CTSF was downregulated in tumor tissues and closely related to the poor survival of ccRCC patients. Further in vitro experiments suggested that CTSF overexpression suppressed the proliferation and migration of ccRCC cells. Moreover, the expression of CTSF was shown to be associated with several immune-infiltrating cells and immunomodulators in ccRCC. These results indicated that CTSF might be a promising diagnostic and prognostic marker in ccRCC.