c-Met and EPHA7 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases Are Related to Prognosis in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Focusing on the Association with Myoferlin Expression

Abstract

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are important targets for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) treatment. Myoferlin is a strong regulator of RTKs. To identify myoferlin-associated RTKs and their prognostic implications in ccRCC, we investigated the expression of RTKs and myoferlin using proteome-based evaluation and immunohistochemical staining in tissue microarray. Multivariate Cox analysis adjusted for TNM stage and WHO grade was performed (n = 410 and 506). Proteomic analysis suggested c-Met and EPHA7 as novel candidates for myoferlin-associated RTKs. We immunohistochemically validated the positive association between c-Met and myoferlin expression. High c-Met expression was independently associated with overall (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.153–2.919) and cancer-specific survival (HR = 1.150–3.389). The prognostic effect of high c-Met expression was also determined in an independent cohort (overall survival, HR = 1.503–3.771). Although expression of EPHA7 and myoferlin was not correlated, EPHA7 expression was independently associated with progression-free (HR = 1.237–4.319) and cancer-specific survival (HR = 1.214–4.558). In addition, network-based prioritization showed co-functional enrichment of c-Met and myoferlin, suggesting a novel regulatory function of myoferlin in c-Met signaling. This study indicates that c-Met and EPHA7 might be useful prognostic biomarkers, and the presumed myoferlin/c-Met pathway could be a novel therapeutic target in ccRCC.