Conclusion
the expression of HK2 is positively correlated with the immune cell infiltration and prognosis of renal cell carcinoma patients, thus playing an important role in renal cancer development.
Methods
In this study, RNA-seq data from renal cancer and normal tissues were extracted from TCGA and the relationship between HK2 expression and pathological features of RCC patients was analyzed using the GEPIA and UALCAN databases. Subsequently, Western blot and qRT-PCR were performed to analyze the protein and mRNA expression of HK2 in renal cell carcinoma tissues and cell lines. Lastly, various bioinformatics tools were applied to determine the immune cell infiltration, survival, and developing prediction model.
Results
The analysis of RNA-seq data revealed a high expression of HK2 in renal cell carcinoma; furthermore, Western blot and qRT-PCR also showed high expression of HK2 in renal cancer tissues and cell lines. The high expression of HK2 showed a significant positive correlation with the advanced stage of the tumor, lymph node metastasis, and worst survival in renal carcinoma patients. The high expression of HK2 was further identified as an independent risk factor of RCC patients; it also showed a significant positive immune cell infiltration RCC tumor microenvironment including macrophages, B cells, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and CD8+ T cells.