# A comprehensive analysis of the oncogenic and prognostic role of TBC1Ds in human hepatocellular carcinoma

**Authors:** Pei Zhang, Lei Zhu, Xiaodong Pan

PMC · DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17362 · PeerJ · 2024-05-14

## TL;DR

This study finds that TBC1D proteins are overactive in liver cancer and linked to worse outcomes, suggesting they could help diagnose or treat the disease.

## Contribution

This is the first analysis of TBC1D expression patterns and their prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma.

## Key findings

- TBC1Ds are upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
- Higher TBC1D mRNA levels correlate with poor prognosis in HCC patients.
- TBC1Ds are linked to autophagy, the AMPK pathway, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in HCC.

## Abstract

TBC1D family members (TBC1Ds) are a group of proteins that contain the Tre2-Bub2-Cdc16 (TBC) domain. Recent studies have shown that TBC1Ds are involved in tumor growth, but no analysis has been done of expression patterns and prognostic values of TBC1Ds in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The expression levels of TBC1Ds were evaluated in HCC using the TIMER, UALCN and Protein Atlas databases. The correlation between the mRNA levels of TBC1Ds and the prognosis of patients with HCC in the GEPIA database was then analyzed. An enrichment analysis then revealed genes that potentially interact with TBC1Ds. The correlation between levels of TBC1Ds and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) in HCC were studied using the TIMER 2.0 database. Finally, a series of in vitro assays verified the role of TBC1Ds in HCC progression.

This study revealed the upregulated expression of TBC1Ds in HCC and the strong positive correlation between the mRNA levels of TBC1Ds and poor prognosis of patients with HCC. The functions of TBC1Ds were mainly related to autophagy and the AMPK pathway. There was also a significant correlation between level of TBC1Ds and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) in HCC. The promoting role of TBC1Ds in HCC progression was verified in vitro assays.

The results of this analysis indicate that TBC1Ds may serve as new biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** hepatocellular carcinoma (MONDO:0007256), HCC (MONDO:0007256)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** PRKAA1 (protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit alpha 1) [NCBI Gene 5562] {aka AMPK, AMPK alpha 1, AMPKa1}, USP6 (ubiquitin specific peptidase 6) [NCBI Gene 9098] {aka HRP1, TRE17, TRE2, TRESMCR, Tre-2, USP6-short}, TBC1D1 (TBC1 domain family member 1) [NCBI Gene 23216] {aka TBC, TBC1}, CDC16 (cell division cycle 16) [NCBI Gene 8881] {aka ANAPC6, APC6, CDC16Hs, CUT9}
- **Diseases:** tumor (MESH:D009369), HCC (MESH:D006528)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

9 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC11100476/full.md

## References

31 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC11100476/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC11100476