Hui Zhang

Dr. Hui Zhang

School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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8 June 2022 in Cancers
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
HGHonghong Guo
Honghong Guo
LZLing Zhu
Ling Zhu
LHLu Huang
Lu Huang
ZSZhen Sun
Zhen Sun
HZHui Zhang
Hui Zhang
YXyuanyan xiong
yuanyan xiong
The accumulating evidence demonstrates that the apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC), DNA-editing protein plays an important role in the molecular pathogenesis of cancer. In particular, the APOBEC3 family was shown to induce tumor mutations by an aberrant DNA editing mechanism. However, knowledge regarding the reconstitution of the APOBEC family genes across cancer types is still lacking. Here, we systematically analyzed the molecular alterations, immuno-oncological features, and clinical relevance of the APOBEC family in pan-cancer. We found that APOBEC genes were widely and significantly differentially expressed between normal and cancer samples in 16 cancer types, and that their expression levels are significantly correlated with the prognostic value in 17 cancer types. Moreover, two patterns of APOBEC-mediated stratification with distinct immune characteristics were identified in different cancer types, respectively. In ACC, for example, the first pattern of APOBEC-mediated stratification was closely correlated with the phenotype of immune activation, which was characterized by a high immune score, increased infiltration of CD8 T cells, and higher survival. The other pattern of APOBEC-mediated stratification was closely correlated with the low-infiltration immune phenotype, which was characterized by a low immune score, lack of effective immune infiltration, and poorer survival. Further, we found the APOBEC-mediated pattern with low-infiltration immune was also highly associated with the advanced tumor subtype and the CIMP-high tumor subtype (CpG island hypermethylation). Patients with the APOBEC-mediated pattern with immune activation were more likely to have therapeutic advantages in ICB (immunological checkpoint blockade) treatment. Overall, our results provide a valuable resource that will be useful in guiding oncologic and therapeutic analyses of the role of APOBEC family in cancer.