Journal Article Epublish
PubMed: 40443402 DOI: 10.1515/jtim-2025-0009
Deciphering the role of ELAVL1: Insights from pan-cancer multiomics analyses with emphasis on nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
J Transl Int Med 13(2):138-155
Authors: Jindong Xie, Yi Xie, Wencheng Tan, Yimeng Ye, Xueqi Ou, Xiong Zou, Zhiqing He, Jiarong Wu, Xinpei Deng, Hailin Tang, Longjun He, Kailai Li, Peng Luo, Kunhao Bai, Guoxian Huang, Jianjun Li
Affiliations
- Department of Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
- Department of Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Department of Endoscopy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
- Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
- Department of Oncology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Abstract
Background and Objectives
Cancer continues to be a predominant cause of mortality worldwide, underscoring the critical need to identify and develop novel biomarkers to improve prognostic accuracy and therapeutic approaches. The dysregulation of ELAVL1 is linked to various diseases, including cancer. Nevertheless, its role across different cancer types remains insufficiently investigated.
Methods
We conducted a systematic investigation into the expression patterns, prognostic significance, genomic alterations, modifications, and functional implications of ELAVL1 in pan-cancer types. Besides, we performed in vitro and in vivo experiments to confirm the role of ELAVL1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
Results
By utilizing multi-omics datasets, we found obvious overexpression of ELAVL1 in various cancer types at both the mRNA and protein levels, with predominant expression in malignant cells. Survival analysis revealed that increased ELAVL1 expression was linked to unfavorable outcomes in certain cancers; however, its effect difers among various cancer types. Additionally, we found that the genomic alterations and modifications of ELAVL1 were related to tumor progression. We discovered that ELAVL1 was elevated in NPC tissues. In addition, survival analysis indicated that NPC patients with higher ELAVL1 expression had worse prognoses. Functional assays demonstrated that ELAVL1 suppression led to decreased proliferation and migration in NPC cell lines. Moreover, ELAVL1 knockdown effectively inhibited NPC progression in the lymph node and lung metastasis models.
Conclusions
In summary, ELAVL1 exhibits diverse and complex involvement in tumor progression. Targeting it might inhibit tumor progression, making it a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for enhancing cancer treatment outcomes.
MeSH
Cells, Neoplasms, Biomarkers, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Therapeutics