PSMC6 as a Potential Novel Prognostic and Diagnostic Marker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Associated with Immune Infiltration and Drug Sensitivity

Abstract

Abstract Objective: ATPase proteasome 26S subunit 6(PSMC6), a member of the 19S regulatory subunit of the 26S proteasome. It catalyszes bears the responsibility of catalyzing the unfolding and translocation of substrates into the confines of the 20S proteasome. It has shown its ascending significance in multiple cancers such as Lung adenocarcinoma, Glioma, and Breast invasive carcinoma. However, no systematic analysis has been conducted to explore its function hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). in this study, we explored the relationship between PSMC6 expression in the HCC and clinical prognosis, immune infiltration, and drug sensitivity. METHODS: We analyzed RNA expression data of patients with HCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO databases to explore the value of PSMC6 mRNA expression in clinical prognosis. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were employed to validate PSMC6 expression at the mRNA and protein levels. We then investigated cell viability and migratory ability by CCK8 and transwell assay, respectively. Results: The expression of PSMC6 in HCC tumor tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (p < 0.001). PSMC6 expression was closely correlated with immune cell infiltration. Twelve sensitive drugs were screened in the PSMC6 high-expression group, and further experiments confirmed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of PSMC6 in HCC cells were upregulated. PSMC6 knockdown by Small interfering RNA significantly reduced HCC cancer cell viability and invasion . CONCLUSION: PSMC6 may be used as a novel prognostic marker, which and can help be used to formulate personalized treatments for HCC patients.