Photo Credit: Nemes Laszlo
The following is a summary of “Impact of liquid–liquid phase separation- and immune-related gene signatures on multiple myeloma prognosis: focus on DDX21 and EZH2,” published in the December 2024 issue of Hematology by Wang et al.
Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) influences therapeutic sensitivity in multiple myeloma (MM).
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to identify LLPS-related genes linked to MM prognosis.
Using public transcriptomic data, they screened LLPS- and immune-related genes for MM-derived plasma cells. Subtypes were identified with consensus clustering, and comparisons were performed using t-tests and survival analysis. They applied the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to identify prognostic signatures and used Kaplan-Meier and ROC curves to evaluate their prognostic values. After transfecting MM cells with sh-DDX21, CCK8, flow cytometry and Transwell assays assessed proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion.
The results showed that overlapping LLPS- and immune-related genes yielded 103 genes, clustering MM samples into 3 subtypes with significant survival and immune landscape differences. Cox regression identified EZH2 and DDX21, overexpressed in MM, to construct a prognostic model with strong predictive performance. Subtype 2, with a poorer prognosis, had higher risk scores and was more common in high-risk groups. In vitro, sh-DDX21 significantly inhibited proliferation, invasion, and migration in MM.1S cells.
Investigators identified EZH2 and DDX21 as novel markers for predicting MM prognostic risk. DDX21 promoted tumor progression, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for improving outcomes.
Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078454.2024.2445403
