PCSK۹ is significantly overexpressed insome cancers: A potential therapeutic application

Introduction: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type ۹(PCSK۹) is a gene crucial in regulating plasma low-densitylipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels by promoting the degradationof LDL receptors on hepatocyte cell surfaces. Recentresearch has indicated that PCSK۹ may also be involved in cancerdevelopment and progression, with studies suggesting a directoncogenic role of PCSK۹ in promoting cancer cell growthand proliferation. Overexpression of PCSK۹ has been observedin various types of cancer. We aimed to employ bioinformaticsmethods to examine the distinct expression patterns of PCSK۹in different kinds of cancers and to unravel any potential associationsbetween altered expression of PCSK۹ and clinicopathologicalcharacteristics of patients. Furthermore, our datasuggests PCSK۹ as a potential therapeutic target for cancertreatment.Materials and Methods: This study used various tools andplatforms to investigate the gene expression and copy numberchanges of PCSK۹ in pancreatic adenoma and meningioma carcinoma.The gene expression and copy number of PCSK۹ wereanalyzed using the ENCORI website for pancreatic adenomasamples. In addition, we study the copy number of PCSK۹ in meningioma carcinoma via cBioPortal cancer genomicsdataset. Furthermore, we used the TCGA Biolinks R packageand gathered datasets to investigate the relationship betweenPCSK۹ and survival outcomes.Results: Our analysis of bioinformatics data from the ENCORIdatabase revealed a significant increase in the expression levelof PCSK۹ (P value: ۰.۰۵, Fold Change: ۲.۱۳) in pancreatic adenoma.Interestingly, we also observed a ۲۵% decrease in thecopy number of the gene in pancreatic adenoma. Similar findingswere observed in meningioma cases, with a ۷۵% decreasein the copy number of the PCSK۹ gene. This information wasfurther confirmed by investigating meningioma cases in thecBioPortal database, which revealed that ۱۷% of cases had adeletion in the PCSK۹ gene.Conclusion: Accumulating evidence suggests that PCSK۹ mayplay a multifaceted role in cancer initiation and progression.Therefore, its gene expression and genetic variations analysiscould serve as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic approach.

کلیدواژه ها:

PCSK۹ ، Pancreatic adenoma ، Meningioma ، copynumber variation ، Gene Expression