CDH6 as a prognostic indicator and marker for chemotherapy in gliomas

by Selleckchem | Apr 01 2023

Glioma is the most malignant cancer of the central nervous system. There are various therapies for treating gliomas, but their outcomes are not satisfactory. Therefore, new targets for glioma treatment are needed. This study examined the cadherin-6 (CDH6) expression in gliomas using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas datasets. CDH6 expression positively correlated with the World Health Organization (WHO) tumor grade and negatively correlated with patient prognosis. A significant decrease in CDH6 promoter methylation was identified with an increase in the WHO grade severity. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses suggested that CDH6 might be involved in cell-cell interactions and immune processes in the glioma microenvironment. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed a correlation between CDH6 and cell adhesion molecules, focal adhesions, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B signaling pathways, nuclear division, chromosome segregation, mitotic nuclear division, and immune-related pathways. CDH6 strongly correlated with immunosuppressive cells, including regulatory T cells, monocytes, macrophages, tumor-associated macrophages, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. It also showed correlations with immune-active cells such as B cells, CD8+ T cells, and dendritic cells. Single-cell analysis showed that CDH6 was expressed mainly in astrocyte (AC)-like malignant cells. Differentially expressed genes of AC-like malignant cells were found to be associated with stress response, membranous processes, viral infections, and several types of cancers. Potential drugs associated with high CDH6 expression were also predicted, including AMG-22, rutin, CCT128930, deforolimus, bis(maltolato)oxovanadium, anagrelide, vemurafenib, CHIR-98014, and AZD5582. Thus, this study showed that CDH6 correlates with glioma immune infiltration, it is expressed mainly in AC-like malignant cells, and it may act as a new target for glioma therapy.

Comments：

The findings are indeed interesting and suggest that CDH6 could be a promising target for glioma therapy. The positive correlation between CDH6 expression and WHO tumor grade, as well as the negative correlation with patient prognosis, highlight the potential clinical significance of this molecule in glioma progression.

The identified associations between CDH6 and cell-cell interactions, immune processes, and immunosuppressive cells, as well as its expression in AC-like malignant cells, provide important insights into the underlying mechanisms involved in glioma development and progression. Furthermore, the identification of potential drugs associated with high CDH6 expression may help to guide future drug development efforts for glioma treatment.

It is important to note, however, that further research is needed to fully understand the role of CDH6 in glioma and its potential as a therapeutic target. Nonetheless, the results of this study provide a solid foundation for future studies aimed at exploring the use of CDH6-targeted therapies for the treatment of glioma.