Clin Exp Med. 2026 Jul 26;26(1):329. doi: 10.1007/s10238-026-02264-7.

ABSTRACT

KANSL2, a core component of the NSL histone acetyltransferase complex, has been implicated in tumorigenesis. However, its pan-cancer relevance and functional role in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) remain unclear. Multi-omics data from TCGA, GEO, and HPA were integrated to systematically evaluate KANSL2 expression, clinical significance, genomic alterations, and immune associations across cancers. Functional enrichment, immune infiltration analyses, and single-cell transcriptomics were performed. In vitro assays were conducted to validate the biological effects of KANSL2 in LIHC cells. KANSL2 is broadly upregulated across cancers and exhibits strong diagnostic performance. Elevated KANSL2 expression correlates with unfavorable prognosis, particularly in LIHC. Mechanistically, KANSL2 and its co-expressed genes are enriched in cell-cycle progression. KANSL2 expression is also closely associated with immune infiltration and immunoregulatory signaling within the tumor microenvironment, with single-cell data indicating preferential expression in proliferative T-cell subsets. Functional experiments demonstrate that KANSL2 silencing suppresses proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induces G2/M phase arrest in LIHC cells. Notably, its effects on apoptosis are limited, suggesting that KANSL2 primarily drives tumor progression through cell-cycle-dependent mechanisms. This study identifies KANSL2 as a key regulator of tumor progression and immune remodeling in LIHC. By promoting malignancy predominantly via cell-cycle control, KANSL2 represents a promising biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis, and a potential therapeutic target.

PMID:42726304 | PMC:PMC13569553 | DOI:10.1007/s10238-026-02264-7

Clin Exp Med. 2026 Jul 26;26(1):329. doi: 10.1007/s10238-026-02264-7.

ABSTRACT

KANSL2, a core component of the NSL histone acetyltransferase complex, has been implicated in tumorigenesis. However, its pan-cancer relevance and functional role in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) remain unclear. Multi-omics data from TCGA, GEO, and HPA were integrated to systematically evaluate KANSL2 expression, clinical significance, genomic alterations, and immune associations across cancers. Functional enrichment, immune infiltration analyses, and single-cell transcriptomics were performed. In vitro assays were conducted to validate the biological effects of KANSL2 in LIHC cells. KANSL2 is broadly upregulated across cancers and exhibits strong diagnostic performance. Elevated KANSL2 expression correlates with unfavorable prognosis, particularly in LIHC. Mechanistically, KANSL2 and its co-expressed genes are enriched in cell-cycle progression. KANSL2 expression is also closely associated with immune infiltration and immunoregulatory signaling within the tumor microenvironment, with single-cell data indicating preferential expression in proliferative T-cell subsets. Functional experiments demonstrate that KANSL2 silencing suppresses proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induces G2/M phase arrest in LIHC cells. Notably, its effects on apoptosis are limited, suggesting that KANSL2 primarily drives tumor progression through cell-cycle-dependent mechanisms. This study identifies KANSL2 as a key regulator of tumor progression and immune remodeling in LIHC. By promoting malignancy predominantly via cell-cycle control, KANSL2 represents a promising biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis, and a potential therapeutic target.

PMID:42726304 | PMC:PMC13569553 | DOI:10.1007/s10238-026-02264-7

FASEB J. 2026 Sep 30;40(18):e72296. doi: 10.1096/fj.202603069R.

ABSTRACT

Pancreatic cancer (PC) presents a significant global health challenge because of its high mortality rate, highlighting the urgent requirement for effective early diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This study examined the function of phenylalanine metabolism in PC and developed a high-accuracy diagnostic model by integrating metabolomics, Mendelian randomization (MR), and machine learning (ML) algorithms. Initially, MR analysis was conducted on 55 plasma metabolites, revealing a significant causal link between phenylalanine and PC. Utilizing GeneCards and public transcriptomic databases, we determined eight differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in PC associated with phenylalanine. Based on these genes, we utilized 12 ML algorithms, totaling 113 combinations, to select the optimal diagnostic model. We applied Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) for feature interpretation and constructed a prognostic nomogram with strong predictive performance by incorporating clinical variables. Furthermore, immune infiltration analysis demonstrated strong connections between these key genes and specific immune cell populations. Based on the SHAP value, we conducted single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data and simulated gene knockout analyses using SLC6A14 as the key gene. Drug target prediction-guided molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, focusing on the core gene SLC6A14, confirmed the high binding stability of candidate compounds. Finally, in vitro cell experiments quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) verified the expression trends of the key genes in PC cell lines. In conclusion, this study successfully developed an ML diagnostic model with high biological interpretability. This analysis aims to identify biomarkers related to phenylalanine metabolism and potential therapeutic drugs for PC, offering new strategies for personalized targeted therapy of PC.

PMID:42730913 | PMC:PMC13570651 | DOI:10.1096/fj.202603069R