AUTHOR=Liu Zhendong , Ren Zhishuai , Zhang Cheng , Qian Rongjun , Wang Hongbo , Wang Jialin , Zhang Wang , Liu Binfeng , Lian Xiaoyu , Wang Yanbiao , Guo Yuqi , Gao Yanzheng 

TITLE=ELK3: A New Molecular Marker for the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Glioma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.608748

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.608748

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=In recent years, ELK3, a novel oncogene, has been widely reported to affect the pathological process and progression of many cancers in human tissues. However, it remains unclear whether ELK3, as a key gene, affects the pathological process of glioma and the prognosis of glioma patients. The purpose of our study was to comprehensively and systematically reveal the correlation between ELK3 and the malignant progression of gliomas by analysing clinical sample information stored in multiple databases, reveal the putative mechanism of ELK3's involvement in malignant glioma progression, and seek a new and efficient biomarker for glioma diagnosis and targeted therapy. We analysed data on clinical samples stored in the GEPIA, GEO, HPA, CGGA and TCGA databases. Analyses using the GEPIA, GEO and HPA databases revealed that ELK3 expression was increased in gliomas relative to matched normal brain tissue. Subsequently, Wilcox and Kruskal tests revealed that ELK3 expression was positively correlated with several clinical characteristics of glioma sufferers, such as age, WHO classification, and recurrence. In addition, Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis demonstrated that high expression of ELK3 was significantly associated with low survival of sufferers and serves as an independent predictor of glioma. Furthermore, GSEA was used to reveal the signalling pathways associated with ELK3 in glioma. We found that ELK3 is involved in the regulation of multiple cancer cell signalling pathways, including Toll-like receptor, JAK-STAT, and ECM-receptor interaction pathways and pathways in cancer. Based on the results, we conclude that ELK3 may serve as an efficient molecular target for the diagnosis and prognosis of gliomas and thereby improve the poor prognosis of glioma patients.