Zinc Finger Proteins in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas: ZNF540 May Serve as a Biomarker

• Published in: Current Oncology
• Main Authors: Joanna Sobocińska, Joanna Nowakowska, Sara Molenda, Anna Olechnowicz, Kacper Guglas, Joanna Kozłowska-Masłoń, Urszula Kazimierczak, Marta Machnik, Urszula Oleksiewicz, Anna Teresiak, Katarzyna Lamperska, Tomasz Kolenda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022-12-01
• Subjects: HNSCC; <i>HPV</i>; KRAB-ZNF; ZNF; biomarkers; TCGA
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/29/12/779
• ISSN: 1198-0052; 1718-7729

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the ten most common cancers. Most cancer cases originate from alcohol and tobacco consumption. However, studies have demonstrated that human papillomavirus (<i>HPV</i>) infection, particularly <i>HPV-16</i>, may also significantly influence disease progression. The KRAB-ZNF family of genes is involved in epigenetic suppression, and its involvement in carcinogenesis is the subject of extensive studies. The available literature data demonstrate that they may play different roles, both as tumor suppressors and oncogenes. In this study, six ZNF genes, <i>ZFP28</i>, <i>ZNF132</i>, <i>ZNF418</i>, <i>ZNF426</i>, <i>ZNF540</i>, and <i>ZNF880</i>, were tested using several in silico approaches based on the TCGA and GEO datasets. Our analyses indicate that the expression of the analyzed ZNFs was significantly downregulated in tumor tissues and depended on tumor localization. The expression levels of ZNFs differed between <i>HPV</i>-positive vs. <i>HPV</i>-negative patients depending on the clinical-pathological parameters. More specifically, the patients with higher levels of <i>ZNF418</i> and <i>ZNF540</i> showed better survival rates than those with a lower expression. In addition, the level of <i>ZNF540</i> expression in <i>HPV</i>-positive (<i>HPV(+)</i>) patients was higher than in <i>HPV</i>-negative (<i>HPV(−)</i>) patients (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) and was associated with better overall survival (OS). In conclusion, we demonstrate that <i>ZNF540</i> expression highly correlates with <i>HPV</i> infection, which renders <i>ZNF540</i> a potential biomarker for HNSCC prognosis and treatment.