AUTHOR=Fei Lihong , Lu Zhimin , Xu Yufen , Hou Guoxin 

TITLE=A comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of the expression characteristics, prognostic value, and immune characteristics of TOP1MT

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.920897

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2022.920897

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Mitochondria are at the heart of a number of metabolic pathways providing enormous energy for normal cell growth and regulating tumor cell growth as well as survival. Mitochondrial topoisomerase I (<italic>TOP1MT</italic>) is a type IB topoisomerase found in the mitochondria of vertebrates. However, no pan-cancer analysis of <italic>TOP1MT</italic> has been reported. This study aims to explore <italic>TOP1MT</italic> expression in pan-cancer tissues and identify whether it can be a target for mitochondrial anticancer therapy.</p><p><bold>Methods and results:</bold> The original <italic>TOP1MT</italic> expression data in 33 different types of cancer patients were downloaded from the TCGA and GTEx databases. <italic>TOP1MT</italic> was highly expressed in cancer tissues, including BLCA, BRCA, CHOL, COAD, DLBC, ESCA, GBM, HNSC, KIRC, KIRP, LGG, LIHC, LUAD, LUSC, PAAD, PCPG, PRAD, READ, SKCM, STAD, THYM, UCEC, and UCS. According to Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis, high <italic>TOP1MT</italic> expression in BLCA, HNSC, KIRP, PAAD, UCEC, and LIHC cancer tissues was linked to poor prognosis of cancer patients, i.e., poor OS, disease-specific survival, and PFI. Linkedomics analysis identified a positive correlation of <italic>TOP1MT</italic> expression with CNA, but a negative correlation with methylation. <italic>TOP1MT</italic> expression significantly correlated with immune cells and immune checkpoints in the TIMER database. Functional analysis showed a close relationship between <italic>TOP1MT</italic> expression and ribosomes.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> In summary, <italic>TOP1MT</italic> is a potential biomarker for mitochondrial anticancer therapy and cancer immunotherapy.</p>