Evaluating RHOXF1 Gene Expression in Different Cell LinesBackground: RHOXF1 transcription factor is highly expressed in reproductive tissues and probably plays a role in spermatogenesis. RHOXF1 is expressed in some cancer-derived cell lines, too. The antiapoptotic role of RHOXF1, together with its hormone-dependent function, may increase its probable role in tumorigenesis as well as spermatogenesis. RHOXF1 represents the properties of cancer-testis genes-the promising targets for immunotherapy. Therefore, its study in cancer cell lines can considerably contribute to future research on therapeutic interventions. This study used both experimental and in silico investigation of RHOXF1 gene expression in different cancer cell lines.
Materials and Methods:In the present study, we investigated RHOXF1 in silico gene expression levels in breast cancer and prostate cancer cell lines as well as in the Human Protein Atlas, GEMiCCL, and Expression Atlas databases. We also evaluated HEK 293 cells using RT-PCR. Finally, the results were compared and analyzed.
Results:The obtained data showed an increase in RHOXF1 in cilico expression levels in the MCF7 cell line, which has a clear contradiction with the Human Protein Atlas and GEMiCCL databases. In this study, RHOXF1 gene expression was not observed in HEK293, MDA-MB-231, PC3, and DU145. The expression of the RHOXF1 gene in the database was also absent in some other cell lines, including HEK 293.
Conclusion:We discovered the discrepancy of some databases with the experimental findings, also we found higher expression levels of the RHOXF1 gene as a cancer-testis gene in the MCF7 breast cancer cell line, which can be investigated as a possible candidate for immunotherapy.