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The protein–protein interaction network and clinical significance of heat-shock proteins in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

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Abstract

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs), one of the evolutionarily conserved protein families, are widely found in various organisms, and play important physiological functions. Nevertheless, HSPs have not been systematically analyzed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In this study, we applied the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network methodology to explore the characteristics of HSPs, and integrate their expression in ESCC. First, differentially expressed HSPs in ESCC were identified from our previous RNA-seq data. By constructing a specific PPI network, we found differentially expressed HSPs interacted with hundreds of neighboring proteins. Subcellular localization analyses demonstrated that HSPs and their interacting proteins distributed in multiple layers, from membrane to nucleus. Functional enrichment annotation analyses revealed known and potential functions for HSPs. KEGG pathway analyses identified four significant enrichment pathways. Moreover, three HSPs (DNAJC5B, HSPA1B, and HSPH1) could serve as promising targets for prognostic prediction in ESCC, suggesting these HSPs might play a significant role in the development of ESCC. These multiple bioinformatics analyses have provided a comprehensive view of the roles of heat-shock proteins in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 81672473, 81502138), the Science and Technology Program of Guangdong (nos. 2014A030310390, 2017A030313181), the Department of Education, Guangdong Government under the Top-tier University Development Scheme for Research and Control of Infectious Diseases (2016034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, China

    Hong Sun, Xinyi Cai, Haofeng Zhou, Xiaoqi Li, Haiying Zou, Jianyi Wu, Lei Xie, Yinwei Cheng, Liyan Xu, Enmin Li & Bingli Wu

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, China

    Hong Sun, Xinyi Cai, Haofeng Zhou, Xiaoqi Li, Haiying Zou, Jianyi Wu, Lei Xie, Enmin Li & Bingli Wu

  3. Department of Pathology, Shantou Central Hospital, Affiliated Shantou Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shantou, 515041, China

    Zepeng Du & Liyan Xu

  4. Institute of Oncologic Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, China

    Yinwei Cheng

  5. Network and Information Center, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, China

    Wenming Xie

  6. Tumor Hospital Affiliated to Xinjiang Medical University, Ürümqi, 830054, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China

    Xiaomei Lu

  7. Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Sichuan, 610041, China

    Longqi Chen

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  1. Hong Sun
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  2. Xinyi Cai
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  3. Haofeng Zhou
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  14. Enmin Li
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  15. Bingli Wu
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Correspondence to Enmin Li or Bingli Wu.

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Sun, H., Cai, X., Zhou, H. et al. The protein–protein interaction network and clinical significance of heat-shock proteins in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Amino Acids 50, 685–697 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-018-2569-8

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