AUTHOR=Zhang Chenming , Ma Sicheng , Hao Xiaohui , Wang Zulong , Sun Zixue 

TITLE=Methylation status of TK1 correlated with immune infiltrates in prostate cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.899384

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2022.899384

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is overexpressed in numerous cancers and is linked to a poor prognosis. However, the relevance of TK1 in prostate cancer (PCa) is unknown. The goal of this work was to use comprehensive bioinformatic analyses to elucidate the involvement of TK1 and TK1 methylation in PCa. TK1 mRNA expression and methylation data in PCa were investigated via GEPIA, TIMER, and UALCAN coupled with MEXPRESS data resources. We employed the LinkedOmics data resource to determine the signaling cascades linked to TK1 expression. Single-cell analysis was performed using the CancerSEA data resource. GeneMANIA and CancerSEA were used to analyze the correlation between TK1 and TK1 coexpressed genes. In addition, TIMER and TISIDB were adopted to assess tumor-invading immune cells and immunomodulators. CTD was utilized to detect the drugs acting on TK1. This study found that TK1 was overexpressed in PCa, and its contents were linked to tumor stage and prognosis. Genes co-expressed with TK1 were enriched in cascades involved in the ribosome, cell cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, DNA replication, oocyte meiosis, and the proteasome. The expression of TK1 along with its methylation status was found to be linked to tumor-invading immune cells, as well as PCa immunomodulators. We also examined the prospect of employing TK1 as a possible target for PCa therapy. This work illustrates that TK1 hypermethylation could be a predictive signature for PCa patients and a prospective immune-linked treatment target. This work provides the clinical value of TK1 hypermethylation in PCa and highlights new insights into its novel immunomodulatory functions.