Expression Profile of PBRM1, PLAU and CLEC3B Genes in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Sulaimani

10.24271/psr.2023.376917.1195

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common type of human cancer which is capable of metastasis and is the second-leading cause of skin cancer death. Various molecular mechanisms play a role in the development of HNSCC. This study investigates expression levels of PBRM1, PLAU, and CLEC3B genes in HNSCC compared to normal tissue to identify their potential use as molecular biomarkers for HNSCC diagnosis; and uses bioinformatics analysis to detect the functional association of the target genes.
HNSCC skin and matched normal tissue were obtained from patients underwent surgical removal treatment. RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were carried out to detect the relative expression levels of PBRM1, PLAU, and CLEC3B genes. The potential use of PBRM1, PLAU, and CLEC3B expression as diagnostic biomarkers was studied using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) and Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis. GeneMANIA software was used to analyze the functionally relevant genes.
RT-qPCR showed that expression of PLAU and PBRM1 genes were significantly up-regulated by 2.4 and 1.8 fold, respectively, in the HNSCC tissues compared to normal tissues. In comparison, the expression level of CLEC3B was decreased by -1.4 fold in the HNSCC compared to normal tissues. The diagnostic performance criteria of PBRM1, PLAU, and CLEC3B assessed with the ROC curve and AUC analysis demonstrated that they could be used as potential biomarkers for the HNSCC diagnosis. The network of interaction between the genes generated by GeneMANIA showed that our target genes had multiple interactions with several other genes and the most significant interactions were physical interactions and co-expression.
The outcomes of this study suggest that PBRM1, PLAU, and CLEC3B genes play roles in the development of HNSCC, and they can be used as potential molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of HNSCC.

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