Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer

Background. The purpose of this study was to analyze SUMO activating enzyme subunit 1 (SAE1) expression in breast cancer (BC). Through bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experiments, the biological function and possibly associated signal pathways of SAE1 in BC were further analyzed. Methods. Bioin...

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Main Authors: Hong Liu, Jing Wang, Yunhai Li, Feng Luo, Lei Xing
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-01-01
Series:The Breast Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/2981722
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author Hong Liu
Jing Wang
Yunhai Li
Feng Luo
Lei Xing
author_facet Hong Liu
Jing Wang
Yunhai Li
Feng Luo
Lei Xing
author_sort Hong Liu
collection DOAJ
description Background. The purpose of this study was to analyze SUMO activating enzyme subunit 1 (SAE1) expression in breast cancer (BC). Through bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experiments, the biological function and possibly associated signal pathways of SAE1 in BC were further analyzed. Methods. Bioinformatics analysis was applied to analyze SAE1 expression in BC and normal breast tissues, its relationship with clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis in BC patients, and data from the Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus dataset. We performed immunohistochemistry to analyze SAE1 expression in BC tissues and para-cancer tissues in 79 breast cancer patients. BC cell proliferation was detected with the Cell Counting Kit-8 and by the colony formation assay. Cell cycle progression was analyzed by flow cytometry, and the expression of cell cycle-related proteins (E2F1, cyclin D3, and cyclin-dependent kinase 2) was determined by western blots in SAE1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfected cells. The GSE1456 dataset was used to analyze possible signal pathways associated with SAE1 by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and the expression of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related proteins (such as p-PI3K, p-AKT, and mTOR) in SAE1-siRNA cells was detected by western blots. Results. The bioinformatics and immunohistochemical results showed that SAE1 mRNA and protein expression in BC tissues were significantly higher than those in normal tissues. The SAE1 overexpression was significantly associated with the tumor size, tumor-node-metastasis stage, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, and whether or not it was a triple-negative BC. Patients with SAE1 overexpression had a worse overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and distant metastasis-free survival compared with lower expression patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that SAE1 may be an independent prognostic factor for OS of BC patients. The proliferation and cell cycle process of BC cells were inhibited by SAE1-siRNA in vitro. The result of GSEA showed that SAE1 was significantly associated with 12 gene sets, including unfolded protein reaction, DNA repair, oxidative phosphorylation, and cell cycle, among others. Additionally, two signal pathways, mTORC1 and PI3K/Akt/mTOR, were significantly correlated with SAE1 overexpression. Western blots confirmed that the expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway-related proteins (p-PI3K, p-AKT, and mTOR) in BC cells was decreased after knocking down SAE1. Conclusion. SAE1 was highly expressed in BC. Its overexpression was associated with poor BC prognosis. Additionally, it was an independent prognostic factor for BC patients. We demonstrated that in vitro SAE1 knockdown effectively inhibited BC proliferation and its cell cycle process. Furthermore, the biological function of SAE1 may be associated with the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. SAE1 will be a potential target for BC treatment.
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spelling doaj-art-c0de28929d7c4d1482c74eec32f46c3d2025-02-03T01:30:22ZengWileyThe Breast Journal1524-47412024-01-01202410.1155/2024/2981722Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast CancerHong Liu0Jing Wang1Yunhai Li2Feng Luo3Lei Xing4Department of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryChongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and EpigeneticsDepartment of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryDepartment of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryDepartment of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryBackground. The purpose of this study was to analyze SUMO activating enzyme subunit 1 (SAE1) expression in breast cancer (BC). Through bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experiments, the biological function and possibly associated signal pathways of SAE1 in BC were further analyzed. Methods. Bioinformatics analysis was applied to analyze SAE1 expression in BC and normal breast tissues, its relationship with clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis in BC patients, and data from the Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus dataset. We performed immunohistochemistry to analyze SAE1 expression in BC tissues and para-cancer tissues in 79 breast cancer patients. BC cell proliferation was detected with the Cell Counting Kit-8 and by the colony formation assay. Cell cycle progression was analyzed by flow cytometry, and the expression of cell cycle-related proteins (E2F1, cyclin D3, and cyclin-dependent kinase 2) was determined by western blots in SAE1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfected cells. The GSE1456 dataset was used to analyze possible signal pathways associated with SAE1 by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and the expression of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related proteins (such as p-PI3K, p-AKT, and mTOR) in SAE1-siRNA cells was detected by western blots. Results. The bioinformatics and immunohistochemical results showed that SAE1 mRNA and protein expression in BC tissues were significantly higher than those in normal tissues. The SAE1 overexpression was significantly associated with the tumor size, tumor-node-metastasis stage, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, and whether or not it was a triple-negative BC. Patients with SAE1 overexpression had a worse overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and distant metastasis-free survival compared with lower expression patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that SAE1 may be an independent prognostic factor for OS of BC patients. The proliferation and cell cycle process of BC cells were inhibited by SAE1-siRNA in vitro. The result of GSEA showed that SAE1 was significantly associated with 12 gene sets, including unfolded protein reaction, DNA repair, oxidative phosphorylation, and cell cycle, among others. Additionally, two signal pathways, mTORC1 and PI3K/Akt/mTOR, were significantly correlated with SAE1 overexpression. Western blots confirmed that the expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway-related proteins (p-PI3K, p-AKT, and mTOR) in BC cells was decreased after knocking down SAE1. Conclusion. SAE1 was highly expressed in BC. Its overexpression was associated with poor BC prognosis. Additionally, it was an independent prognostic factor for BC patients. We demonstrated that in vitro SAE1 knockdown effectively inhibited BC proliferation and its cell cycle process. Furthermore, the biological function of SAE1 may be associated with the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. SAE1 will be a potential target for BC treatment.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/2981722
spellingShingle Hong Liu
Jing Wang
Yunhai Li
Feng Luo
Lei Xing
Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer
The Breast Journal
title Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer
title_full Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer
title_fullStr Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer
title_full_unstemmed Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer
title_short Upregulated SAE1 Drives Tumorigenesis and Is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer
title_sort upregulated sae1 drives tumorigenesis and is associated with poor clinical outcomes in breast cancer
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/2981722
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AT yunhaili upregulatedsae1drivestumorigenesisandisassociatedwithpoorclinicaloutcomesinbreastcancer
AT fengluo upregulatedsae1drivestumorigenesisandisassociatedwithpoorclinicaloutcomesinbreastcancer
AT leixing upregulatedsae1drivestumorigenesisandisassociatedwithpoorclinicaloutcomesinbreastcancer