Overexpression of TC2N is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer
Authors: Jianjun Peng
Jin Li
Jianbo Xu
Xinde Ou
Jingning Ye
Kaiyu Sun
Qinbo Cai
Journal: Journal of Cancer (2021)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: Gastric cancer; Prognosis; TC2N.
Affiliations: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou 510080, China., Digestive Disease Center, the Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 628 Zhenyuan Road, Shenzhen 518000, China.

Abstract:  Background: Tac2-N (TC2N) is a tandem C2 domain-containing protein, acting as a novel oncogene or suppressor in different kinds of cancers. However, the status of TC2N expression and its significance in gastric cancer (GC) is still unclear. The present study is aimed to elucidate the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of TC2N level in GC. Methods: We used sequencing data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to analyze TC2N expression in GC by UALCAN database and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis tools (GEPIA). TC2N expression level in 12 pairs of fresh GC tissues and adjacent nontumorous tissues was detected by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot (WB) assays. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was used to detect TC2N protein expression in Paraffin-embedded tissues in our center. In vitro proliferation, migration and invasion assays were used to evaluate the effect of TC2N on functional capability of gastric cancer cells. LinkedOmics was used to identify gene expressions associated with TC2N. Results: The mRNA and protein expression of TC2N in gastric cancer were both significantly higher than normal gastric mucosa. It was also elevated in gastric cancer cells compared with normal gastric epithelium cell. In vitro assays suggested that TC2N facilitated proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells. Bioinformatic analysis showed a widespread impact of TC2N on the transcriptome and a strong interaction with tumor associated genes. We also found that TC2N was an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival in GC patients and its high expression was evidently associated with poor overall survival and recurrence-free survival. Conclusions: Our results show that high level of TC2N correlates with poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer and promotes the development of gastric cancer. Thus, TC2N expression can serve as a prognostic biomarker for patients with gastric cancer. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 There appears to be a repeated band in Figure 2E. Could the authors please check? *** ![file] , 
 Dear Actinopolysporauff0c Thank you very much for pointing out the mistake in our paper. When we looked back to our raw data, we realized that we pasted the wrong bands during figure assembly. According to the raw data, the band of TC2N in the middle (5N to 8T) in Figure 2E was right, while the band of TC2N in the bottom (9N to 12T) in Figure 2E was mistakenly pasted. Please see that the correct Figure 2E was as shown below. We regret that we did not notice this error during the processes of revision and proofing. We sincerely apologize for our carelessness and any confusions caused by this unintentional error. We will prepare a correction request to the journal soon. Thanks again for your kindly reminder! Best regards, Jianbo Xu ![file] ,