MRPL47 as a Novel Mitochondrial Biomarker for Early Detection and Therapeutic Response in Ovarian Cancer

MRPL47 (Mitochondrial Ribosomal Protein Large Subunit 47) gene in chromosome 3q26 encodes a protein that is part of the large subunit of the mitochondrial ribosome. We observed that MRPL47 is frequently amplified and overexpressed in ovarian cancer samples. Importantly, increased expression of MRPL47 mRNA is associated with high levels of MRPL47 protein in ovarian cancer patients. High expression of MRPL47 is also associated with poor overall and recurrence free survival of ovarian cancer patients. Notably, MRPL47 improved metabolic fitness by enhancing cellular respiration, and glycolysis in cancer cells. Gene set enrichment analysis and target specific knockdown assays revealed that MYC transcription factor regulates MRPL47 expression. Furthermore, MRPL47 was identified very high in the plasma samples of ovarian cancer patients compared to those of healthy volunteers. MRPL47 was also associated with cisplatin resistance, whereas its expression predicted sensitivity to cisplatin therapy. Taken together, we demonstrated that MRPL47 can be used as a diagnostic biomarker for ovarian cancer and other cancers with 3q26 chromosomal amplification.