Epitranscriptomic regulation of the COX-2/PGE2 axis by hnRNPA2B1 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression

Figure 1 HnRNPA2B1 upregulation is an early event in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression and is associated with poor prognosis. A: Pan-cancer analysis of hnRNPA2B1 expression in normal (left) and tumor (right) tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas, with the esophageal cohort highlighted; B: HnRNPA2B1 expression in esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) and normal esophageal tissues in four Gene Expression Omnibus datasets (GSE20347, GSE77861, GSE161533, and GSE111011); C: HnRNPA2B1 expression in normal tissues and ESCA at different pathological stages in The Cancer Genome Atlas; D: Kaplan-Meier overall survival analysis of ESCA patients with high or low HnRNPA2B1 expression; E: Representative immunohistochemistry staining of hnRNPA2B1 in normal esophageal epithelium, LGIN, and HGIN from ESD specimens; F: Quantification of hnRNPA2B1-positive cells in normal, LGIN, and HGIN tissues; G: Representative immunohistochemistry staining of hnRNPA2B1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and matched adjacent and distal tissues; H: Quantification of hnRNPA2B1-positive cells in ESCC, adjacent, and distal tissues; I: Western blotting analysis of hnRNPA2B1 in paired adjacent (A) and tumor (T) ESCC tissues from three representative cases, with GAPDH as the loading control; J: Relative hnRNPA2B1 mRNA expression in paired adjacent and ESCC tissues determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction; K: Western blotting analysis of hnRNPA2B1 in Het-1A, Eca109, and KYSE150 cells, with β-actin as the loading control; L: Relative hnRNPA2B1 mRNA expression in Het-1A, Eca109, and KYSE150 cells determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test for two-group comparisons or one-way ANOVA for multiple-group comparisons, as appropriate. Scale bars = 100 μm. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, and ^cP < 0.001. ESCA: Esophageal carcinoma; HGIN: High-grade intraepithelial neoplasia; LGIN: Low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia; ESCC: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.