TULP3: A potential biomarker in colorectal cancer?

PLoS One. 2019 Jan 14;14(1):e0210762. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210762. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in women and the third most common cancer in men globally. The identification of differentially expressed genes associated to patient's clinical data may represent a useful approach to find important genes in CRC carcinogenesis. Previously, the TULP3 transcription factor was identified as a possible prognostic biomarker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Considering that pancreatic and colorectal tissues have the same embryonic origin, we investigated the profile of TULP3 expression in CRC hypothesizing that it may have a role in its development. We comparatively analysed TULP3 gene expression in CRC and normal adjacent colonic tissue and assessed association of expression profiles with survival and clinicopathological information, using publicly available datasets. TULP3 expression levels were increased in CRC when compared to the adjacent non-tumoral tissue. In addition, higher TULP3 gene expression was associated to lymphatic and vascular invasion in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) and rectum adenocarcinoma (READ), respectively. In summary, our results point to a possible role of TULP3 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in CRC. Additional studies are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / diagnosis
  • Adenocarcinoma / genetics
  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics*
  • Colonic Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Colonic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Colonic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Lymphatic Metastasis / genetics
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / genetics
  • Prognosis
  • Proteins / genetics*
  • Rectal Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Rectal Neoplasms / genetics
  • Rectal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Proteins
  • TULP3 protein, human

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by grants from Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (FIPE-HCPA 16-0032), FAPERGS (16/2551-0000520-6), and I.T.S.S. and P.A-P CNPq scholarships (140045/2015-5 and 307826/2017-1).