E2F transcription factor 1 as a potential prognostic biomarker and promotes tumor proliferation in skin cutaneous melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is a highly aggressive malignancy with an overall poor prognosis. The expression of E2F transcription factor 1 in SKCM tissues was analyzed using the data acquired from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO)databases. The expression of E2F1 was also analyzed in human biopsies using immunohistology, and its expression was detected in SKCM cell lines using qPCR and WB technology. The prognostic value of E2F transcription factor 1 in SKCM was investigated using Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox analysis. The Tumor Immunization Estimation Resource (TIMER) was used to analyze the invasion of immune cells and associated markers of immune cells. The prognostic value of E2F transcription factor 1 DNA methylation levels for each CpG was analyzed by means of the MethSurv. The results were verified in the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database. Individuals with elevated E2F transcription factor 1 expression had a worse prognosis (HR=1.43, p = 0.01). Using the expression level of E2F transcription factor 1, a reliable distinction between tumor and normal tissues can be made (Area Under the Curve =0.949). Moreover, immune infiltrations analysis showed that the mRNA expression levels and somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) in E2F transcription factor 1 were significantly correlated with recruitment of several immune cells. Our study showed that overexpression of E2F transcription factor 1 was significantly associated with poor prognosis and malignant phenotype of melanoma cells in SKCM patients.