Bioinformatics Insights into the Role of GFPT1 in Breast Invasive Carcinoma: Implications for Tumor Prognosis, Immune Modulation, and Therapeutic Applications

Nov 22, 2024·
Jianghui Liang
,
Xiaolian Deng
,
Yingyi Zhang
,
Tianchi Fei
Muzi Ouyang (Mia)
Muzi Ouyang (Mia)
,
Chengjie Yu
,
Yang Xiang
,
Dongwei Jia
,
Fangfang Duan
· 0 min read
DOI
Abstract
BackgroundMetabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer, including alterations in the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP). Glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1) is the key regulatory enzyme in the HBP; however, its role in invasive breast carcinoma remains underexplored.MethodsThis study utilized integrated data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to assess GFPT1 expression in breast cancer (BRCA) patients. Functional enrichment and mutational landscape analyses were performed, along with chemosensitivity predictions. In vitro experiments were conducted by silencing GFPT1 in malignant breast epithelial cells to evaluate changes in proliferation, migration, and apoptosis.ResultsElevated GFPT1 expression was linked to advanced-stage breast cancer and identified as an independent prognostic marker for overall survival (OS). High GFPT1 levels were associated with increased cytoplasmic translation, activation of oncogenic pathways, and infiltration of M2 macrophages. The GFPT1-High group also showed a higher mutational burden, with frequent TP53 mutations. Chemosensitivity analysis revealed increased IC50 values for chemotherapy drugs in this group. GFPT1 silencing led to reduced cell proliferation and migration, along with enhanced apoptosis.ConclusionThese findings indicate that GFPT1 is a novel prognostic biomarker and a predictive indicator of chemotherapy response in invasive breast carcinoma. GFPT1 influences mRNA translation, cell cycle regulation, and M2 macrophage infiltration, thereby promoting cancer cell proliferation and metastasis.
Type
Publication
Frontiers in Genetics, 15, 1482929
Status
Peer-reviewed Open access
publications
Muzi Ouyang (Mia)
Authors
PhD Candidate

I am Muzi Ouyang (欧阳木子) — I go by Mia. I am a PhD candidate in Chemistry at Tsinghua University, advised by Prof. Ying Tan (谭英) at the Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering (iBHE) in Shenzhen. I work on targeted protein degradation: designing bioPROTACs that recruit E3 ligases to destroy proteins small molecules struggle to drug — and working out why that degradation sometimes fails.

My dissertation has two halves. The first is a dual-target bioPROTAC that co-degrades ERα and PI3K p85α, re-sensitizing tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells to endocrine therapy. The second is a KRAS-targeting degrader, where I found a resistance mutation in the hypervariable region that lets KRAS escape a multimerization-dependent platform, and used all-atom molecular dynamics to trace the conformational mechanism behind the escape.

Alongside the wet lab I work in computational protein design — Rosetta, ProteinMPNN and AlphaFold2 — including an end-to-end reproduction of the CLAIRE de novo binder-design pipeline, published openly with its debugging narrative. My training spans animal science, basic medicine and chemistry, which is why I move between wet-lab mechanism and computational design rather than choosing between them.

I expect to defend in June 2027 and am seeking postdoctoral positions starting in late 2027. If my work overlaps with your group’s, I’d be glad to hear from you — I’ll gladly send my CV. Write to me at mumumia.1009@gmail.com, or oymzmia@163.com if you are corresponding from within China.