Telomere and Telomerase-Associated Proteins in Endometrial Carcinogenesis and Cancer-Associated Survival

Button, Lucy, Rogers, Bryony, Thomas, Emily, Bradfield, Alice, Alnafakh, Rafah, Drury, Josephine ORCID: 0000-0002-2275-6664 and Hapangama, Dharani K ORCID: 0000-0003-0270-0150 (2022) Telomere and Telomerase-Associated Proteins in Endometrial Carcinogenesis and Cancer-Associated Survival. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, 23 (2). 626-.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms23020626

Abstract

Risk of relapse of endometrial cancer (EC) after surgical treatment is 13% and recurrent disease carries a poor prognosis. Research into prognostic indicators is essential to improve EC management and outcome. "Immortality" of most cancer cells is dependent on telomerase, but the role of associated proteins in the endometrium is poorly understood. The Cancer Genome Atlas data highlighted telomere/telomerase associated genes (TTAGs) with prognostic relevance in the endometrium, and a recent in silico study identified a group of TTAGs and proteins as key regulators within a network of dysregulated genes in EC. We characterise relevant telomere/telomerase associated proteins (TTAPs) NOP10, NHP2, NOP56, TERF1, TERF2 and TERF2IP in the endometrium using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). qPCR data demonstrated altered expression of multiple TTAPs; specifically, increased NOP10 (p = 0.03) and reduced NHP2 (p = 0.01), TERF2 (p = 0.01) and TERF2IP (p < 0.003) in EC relative to post-menopausal endometrium. Notably, we report reduced NHP2 in EC compared to post-menopausal endometrium in qPCR and IHC (p = 0.0001) data; with survival analysis indicating high immunoscore is favourable in EC (p = 0.0006). Our findings indicate a potential prognostic role for TTAPs in EC, particularly NHP2. Further evaluation of the prognostic and functional role of the examined TTAPs is warranted to develop novel treatment strategies.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	telomere, telomerase, protein, endometrium, endometrial cancer, qPCR, immunohistochemistry
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Life Courses and Medical Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	11 Jan 2022 15:15
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 21:16
DOI:	10.3390/ijms23020626
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23020626
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3146296