Overexpression of cyclin F/CCNF as an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Cyclin F (encoded by CCNF gene) has been reported to be implicated in the pathobiology of several human cancers. However, its potential clinical significance in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unknown. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential significance of cyclin F, assessed by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and molecular (bioinformatics) techniques, as a prognostic marker in ccRCC in relation to clinicopathological features and outcomes. IHC staining was performed using two independent ccRCC tissue array cohorts, herein called tissue macroarray (TMA)_1 and tissue microarray (TMA)_2, composed of 108 ccRCCs and 37 histologically normal tissues adjacent to the tumor (NAT) and 192 ccRCCs and 16 normal kidney samples, respectively. The mRNA expression data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public datasets, followed by bioinformatics analysis of biological mechanisms underlying prognosis. The relationship between immune cell infiltration level and CCNF expression in ccRCC was investigated using the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0 (TIMER2) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2 (GEPIA2). Cyclin F expression was significantly elevated in ccRCC lesions compared to both NAT and normal renal tissues. Likewise, CCNF mRNA was markedly increased in ccRCCs relative to non-cancerous tissues. In all analyzed cohorts, tumors with features of more aggressive behavior were more likely to display cyclin F/CCNF-high expression than low. Furthermore, patients with high cyclin F/CCNF expression had shorter overall survival (OS) times than those with low expression. In addition, multivariable analysis revealed that cyclin F/CCNF-high expression was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS in ccRCC. Enrichment analysis for mechanistically relevant processes showed that CCNF and its highly correlated genes initiate the signaling pathways that eventually result in uncontrolled cell proliferation. CCNF expression was also correlated with immune cell infiltration and caused poor outcomes depending on the abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in ccRCC. Our findings suggest that cyclin F/CCNF expression is likely to have an essential role in ccRCC pathobiology through regulating multiple oncogenic signaling pathways and affecting the tumor immune microenvironment and may serve as prognostic biomarker and promising therapeutic target in ccRCC.