A Comparative Analysis of the Roles of von Willebrand Factor and ADAMTS13 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A...

Genetic and epigenetic alterations of various biomolecules at the molecular level can contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and negative impact prognosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of von Willebrand factor (VWF) and ADAMTS13 on HCC prognosis, using bioinformatics tools. "These tools included GEPIA2, TIMER2, UALCAN database, KM-Plotter, TNM-plot, STRING, ENCORI, Human Protein Atlas, Targetscan 8.0, miRDB, Enrichr-KG, lncRNADisease and, GEO". VWF expression levels were significantly upregulated in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) tissues compared to healthy adjacent tissues. Conversely, ADAMTS13 expression levels were significantly downregulated in LIHC tissues compared with healthy adjacent tissues in GEPIA2 database. The upregulated expression of VWF was significantly associated with longer overall survival (OS). However, the downregulated expression of ADAMTS13 was not significantly related to OS. The promoter regions of VWF and ADAMTS13 were significantly hypomethylated. While a significant negative correlation was observed between VWF with CD4 + T cells, there was a positive correlation between VWF with CD8+ T cells. ADAMTS13 expression positively correlated with CD4+ T cells. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between ADAMTS13 expression and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) (H19, HOTAIR, MALAT1, and UCA1). Conversely, a negative correlation was observed between VWF expression and lncRNAs (H19, HOTAIR, MALAT1, and UCA1). Although these results are promising, they highlight the complexity of the interplay between VWF and ADAMTS13 in HCC progression. According to microarray data, while VWF expression levels were significantly downregulated, ADAMTS13 expression levels were significantly upregulated in HCC compared with the control in the GEO database. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these markers.