Prognostic impact of mitofusin 2 expression in colon cancer

Mitofusin 2 (MFN2) is involved in several biological processes, including cancer. MFN2 is downregulated in some types of cancer and inhibits cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, the relationship between MFN2 and colon cancer remains unknown.

In this study, MFN2 expression was investigated using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Human Protein Atlas (HPA), and the associations between prognostic factors and survival outcomes were assessed via univariate and multivariate analyses. Functional enrichment analyses based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) resource and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were carried out.

MFN2 was downregulated in colon cancer tissues compared with paracancerous colon tissues (P<0.001), and low MFN2 expression was associated with an advanced tumor stage (stage IV vs. stage I, P=0.03; stage I-III vs. stage IV, P=0.003). MFN2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was medium to high in colon normal tissues, but MFN2 IHC staining was faint or not identified in colorectal cancer (CRC) tumor tissues. MFN2 expression was either low or non-existent in colon cancer distinct cell clusters, according to differential gene analysis. Univariate analysis revealed that MFN2 expression in colon cancer patients was significantly associated with the stage [odds ratio (OR) =0.29 for stage IV vs. stage I, P=0.001], T-stage (OR =0.20 for T4 vs. T1, P=0.033), and distant metastasis (OR =0.31 for M1 vs. M0, P=0.000). Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that patients with colon cancer and high MFN2 expression have a better prognosis than those with low MFN2 expression (P=0.002). MFN2 (hazard ratio =0.95, 95% confidence interval: 0.92-0.99, P=0.007) was an independent predictor of colon cancer according to univariate and multivariate Cox models. Finally, GSEA results showed that the KEGG GALACTOSE METABOLISM, APOPTOSIS, and VEGF SIGNALING pathways were activated in the high MFN2 mRNA expression group, whereas the KEGG RIBOSOME pathway was inhibited in the low MFN2 expression group.

Our research revealed MFN2 to be a promising predictive biomarker and therapeutic target for colon cancer.