Fidgetin as a potential prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Fidgetin (FIGN), a conserved ATP-dependent enzyme, is regarded as a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk gene, but the prognostic implication of FIGN in HCC remains obscure. In this study, we investigate the expression of FIGN in HCC and to evaluate its prognostic value. Methods: A total of 216 patients with HCC who experienced hepatectomy were recruited in this study. The expression of FIGN in HCC samples was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting analysis. And Cox regression model was used to evaluate the prognostic value of all covariates. Results: Of the 216 HCC patients, 67 (31.0%) had tumors with high FIGN expression and 149 (69.0%) had tumors with low FIGN expression. FIGN expression was positively correlated with TNM stage (P = 0.039), tumor with incomplete capsule (P = 0.036), microvascular invasion (P = 0.023), and portal vein tumor thrombus (P = 0.003). High expression of FIGN indicated shorter overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio: 4.569, P = 0.036) and disease-free survival (DFS) (hazard ratio: 6.487, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our results indicate that high Fidgetin expression is associated with tumor progression and suggest a worse prognosis in HCC. Fidgetin might serve as a potential target for therapy.

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“…Besides, the further study showed that FIGN was also involved in the proliferation of HCC cells through promoting DNA synthesis and regulating mitosis, and the high expression of FIGN was closely related to the poor prognosis. [38] In our study, FIGN was downregulated in THCA, and high expression of FIGN contributed to the poor prognosis. The analysis showed that high expression of FIGN was associated with the activation of mTOR, PTK, MAPK, and PI3K/AKT signal pathways and Hormone ER/AR, which benefited the development of tumor.…”

“…FIGN is a kind of conserved ATP-dependent AAA enzyme. [ 38 ] Riordan et al [ 39 ] identified that FIGN was overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and promoted the invasion of HCC cells. Besides, the further study showed that FIGN was also involved in the proliferation of HCC cells through promoting DNA synthesis and regulating mitosis, and the high expression of FIGN was closely related to the poor prognosis.…”

Comprehensive characterization of Fidgetin on tumor immune microenvironment evaluation and immunotherapy in human hepatocellular carcinoma

“…To conquer this disease, extra efforts should be paid on specifying the underlying molecular mechanism, clarifying the fine progression of pathogenesis and unearthing promising biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. Less reports were focused on the expression and function of FIGN in HCC progression and prognosis, especially in TME and immune therapy [ 14 , 23 ].…”

“…During the middle to late stages of gestation, the defective mouse embryo displayed vigorous FIGN expression [ 22 ]. A positive overexpression of FIGN has been observed in the nucleus of human HCC tissues [ 23 ]. Other publications inclined to ascribe FIGN as an oncogene in HCC and pancreatic cancer [ 24 , 25 ].…”

The fidgetin family: Shaking things up among the microtubule‐severing enzymes

“…Fidgetin mRNA and protein are both overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma, and expression levels are correlated with tumor stage and progression and with poor prognosis. This suggests fidgetin may serve as a predictive biomarker and therapeutic target, though it remains unclear whether its mitotic or migratory function is involved (Zhou et al, 2020). FL1 is also a potential biomarker as its expression is higher in several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, where it is associated with poor survival (Zhen et al, 2022).…”