Abstract:

Objective To investigate the expression of arginine and glutamate rich protein 1 (ARGLU1) in cervical cancer tissues and its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in cervical cancer patients, and to provide new clues for exploring the molecular mechanisms of cervical cancer development. Methods Fresh tissue samples of cancer tissues and adjacent tissues were collected from 32 consecutive cervical cancer patients diagnosed and treated at our hospital from January 2024 to November 2024. Additionally, paraffin-embedded samples of cancer tissue were collected from 152 cervical cancer patients, including 63 cases from our hospital (collected from June 2020 to March 2023, with postoperative follow-up until June 2025, follow-up duration ranging from 2.33 to 5.08 years) and 89 cases from a tissue microarray (collected from January 2010 to October 2011, with postoperative follow-up until March 2017, follow-up duration ranging from 5.50 to 7.25 years). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the differences in ARGLU1 mRNA and protein expression between cervical cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues. The relationship between the expression of ARGLU1 and the clinicopathological characteristics of cervical cancer patients was further analyzed, and prognosis was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results The relative expression of ARGLU1 mRNA in cervical cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues [(2.72±0.52) vs. (1.33±0.44), (P<0.05)], and the high expression rate of ARGLU1 protein in cervical cancer tissues was also significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues (68.75% vs. 28.13%, χ²=10.573, P<0.05). The high expression rate of ARGLU1 and the relative expression level of ARGLU1 mRNA in cervical cancer patients with lymph node metastasis were higher than those in patients without lymph node metastasis [86.49% (32/37) vs. 66.09% (76/115), χ²=5.664, P<0.05; (3.177±0.255) vs. (2.539±0.482), t=-3.748, P<0.05]. Moreover, the differences in the high expression rate of ARGLU1 and the relative expression level of ARGLU1 mRNA among cervical cancer patients at different clinical stages were statistically significant [Stage Ⅰ 58.18% (32/55), Stage Ⅱ 69.23% (27/39), Stage Ⅲ 77.78% (28/36), Stage Ⅳ 95.45% (21/22), χ²=11.654, P<0.05; Stage Ⅰ (2.489±0.518), Stage Ⅱ (2.919±0.426), Stage Ⅲ (2.930±0.257), Stage Ⅳ (3.340±0.071), t=3.393, P<0.05]. Univariate survival analysis showed that the age of cervical cancer patients, the stage of cervical cancer, lymph node metastasis status, and the level of ARGLU1 expression were the factors affecting the prognosis of cervical cancer patients (P<0.05). The results of multivariate Cox risk model analysis showed that age, tumor stage, lymph node metastasis status, and ARGLU1 expression level were independent factors influencing the prognosis of cervical cancer patients (P<0.05). Prognostic analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method showed that patients with high ARGLU1 expression had significantly lower 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate compared to patients with low expression (44% vs. 84%, Log-rank χ²=14.580, P<0.05; 43% vs. 83%, Log-rank χ²=14.736, P<0.05). Conclusions ARGLU1 is highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and is closely associated with adverse pathological features and poor prognosis, suggesting that ARGLU1 may play a significant role in the development and progression of cervical cancer, and it may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Key words: Cervical cancer, Arginine and glutamate rich 1, Clinicopathological features, Prognosis, Therapeutic target