| Abstract |
BACKGROUND: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation, a well-known modification with
new epigenetic functions, has been reported to participate in gastric cancer
(GC) tumourigenesis, providing novel insights into the molecular pathogenesis of
GC. However, the involvement of Wilms' tumour 1-associated protein (WTAP), a key
component of m6A methylation, in GC progression is controversial. Here, we
investigated the biological role and underlying mechanism of WTAP in GC.
METHODS: We determined WTAP expression using tissue microarrays and The Cancer
Genome Atlas (TCGA) data set, which was used to construct co-expression networks
by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Gene Ontology (GO) and
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were
performed by Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery
(DAVID). CIBERSORT was used to determine WTAP expression in 22 immune cell
types.
RESULTS: Wilms' tumour 1-associated protein was highly expressed in GC, which
indicated a poor prognosis, and WTAP expression served as an independent
predictor of GC survival. By WGCNA, GO, KEGG and core gene survival analyses, we
found that high WTAP expression correlated with RNA methylation and that low
expression correlated with a high T cell-related immune response. CIBERSORT was
used to correlate low WTAP expression with T lymphocyte infiltration.
CONCLUSION: RNA methylation and lymphocyte infiltration are the main causes of
high WTAP expression and poor prognosis, respectively. |
