Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Nov 24, 2023; 14(11): 479-503
Published online Nov 24, 2023. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v14.i11.479
Computational exploration of the significance of COPS6 in cancer: Functional and clinical relevance across tumor types
Shi-Lin Wang, Guang-Zheng Zhuo, Li-Ping Wang, Xiang-Hu Jiang, Guo-Hong Liu, Yun-Bao Pan, Yi-Rong Li
Shi-Lin Wang, Guang-Zheng Zhuo, Li-Ping Wang, Xiang-Hu Jiang, Yun-Bao Pan, Yi-Rong Li, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
Guo-Hong Liu, Department of Radiology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
Co-first authors: Shi-Lin Wang and Guang-Zheng Zhuo.
Co-corresponding authors: Yun-Bao Pan and Yi-Rong Li.
Author contributions: Pan YB designed the research; Wang SL and Zhuo GZ performed the research; Wang SL, Wang LP and Zhuo GZ contributed analytic tools; Wang SL and Zhuo GZ analyzed the data; Wang SL and Pan YB wrote the paper; Pan YB and Li YR were responsible for the supervision. Wang SL and Zhuo GZ contributed equally to this work as co-first authors. The reasons for designating Wang SL and Zhuo GZ as co-first authors are twofold. First, the research was performed as a collaborative effort, and the designation of co-corresponding authorship accurately reflects the distribution of responsibilities and burdens associated with the time and effort required to complete the study and the resultant paper. Second, Wang SL and Zhuo GZ contributed an equally substantial effort throughout the study. They are principal principals of paper writing and data analysis, selecting these researchers as co-first authors, recognizing and respecting this equal contribution. Pan YB and Li YR contributed equally to this work as co-corresponding authors. The reasons for designating Pan YB and Li YR as co-corresponding authors are twofold. First, the research was performed as a collaborative effort. This ensures effective communication and management of post-submission matters, ultimately enhancing the paper's quality and reliability. Second, the overall research team encompassed authors with a variety of expertise and skills from different fields, and the designation of co-corresponding authors best reflects this diversity. Pan YB and Li YR, as heads of both groups, contributed substantially to the experimental design, data analysis and revision, and were therefore listed as co-corresponding authors.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 31900558; the Hubei Provincial Youth Talents Program for Public Health, No. WSJKRC2022013; Wuhan Young and Middle-Aged Medical Backbone Talents Training Project, No. WHQG201904.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at [panyunbao@outlook.com]. Participants gave informed consent for data sharing.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yi-Rong Li, Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, No. 169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China. liyirong2021@126.com
Received: August 28, 2023
Peer-review started: August 28, 2023
First decision: September 14, 2023
Revised: September 20, 2023
Accepted: October 23, 2023
Article in press: October 23, 2023
Published online: November 24, 2023
Processing time: 85 Days and 20.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The COP9 signalosome subunit 6 (COPS6) has been implicated in cancer progression, while its precise role in most types of cancer remains elusive.

AIM

To investigate the functional and clinical relevance of COPS6 across various tumor types using publicly available databases.

METHODS

We used R software and online analysis databases to analyze the differential expression, prognosis, mutation and related functions of COPS6 in pan-cancer.

RESULTS

Differential expression analysis and survival analysis demonstrated that COPS6 was highly expressed and associated with high-risk profiles in the majority of cancer types. Possible associations between COPS6 expression level and prognostic outcomes were found using data from public databases. Mutational analysis revealed that missense mutations were the predominant type of COPS6 mutation. Additionally, positive correlations were identified between COPS6 expression level and tumor mutational burden and microsatellite instability in most types of cancer. Immune infiltration analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between COPS6 expression level and CD8+ T cell infiltration in certain types of cancer. The correlation between COPS6 expression level and cancer-associated fibroblast infiltration exhibited heterogeneity, in which a positive correlation was found in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and tenosynovial giant cell tumor, and a negative correlation was identified in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and thymoma. The correlation between COPS6 expression level and macrophage infiltration was closely related to macrophage type. Gene co-expression and enrichment analysis highlighted transcription elongation factor B polypeptide 2 and G protein pathway suppressor 1 were significantly and positively associated with COPS6 expression level. These genes were predominantly involved in processes, such as ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this study systematically explored the significance of COPS6 across different tumor types, providing a solid foundation for considering COPS6 as a novel biomarker in cancer research.

Keywords: COPS6; Biomarker; Tumor mutational burden; Immune infiltration; Prognostic analysis

Core Tip: The COP9 signalosome subunit 6 COPS6 has been implicated in several cancer types. However, its precise role in most cancer types remains poorly understood. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the function of COPS6 in various tumor types. Through our analysis, we discovered that COPS6 is highly expressed and associated with high-risk profiles in most cancers. Meanwhile, COPS6 expression was positively correlated with tumor mutation burden, microsatellite instability, and immune infiltration of the tumor microenvironment. Our findings suggest that COPS6 could be a potential biomarker for cancer research. Our study contributes to the understanding of the role of COPS6 in cancer progression and highlights the clinical applications.