Abstract:
As liver cancer ranks among the top cancer-related fatalities worldwide,
prognostic indicators and treatment targets for this disease need to be
improved. This study attempts to ascertain whether the Krüppel-like
factor 15 (KLF15) gene and its variants are linked to liver cancer through
use of in-silico and lab-based analysis. Using in silico techniques including
SIFT, PolyPhen, CADD, REVEL, Mutation Assessor, MetaLR,
MutPred2, DynaMut, MUpro, MAESTRO, Project HOPE, and
FATHMM, two pathogenic missense variants rs7557194 and rs7686768
were identified. Structural and functional analyses suggest that these
variants most likely disrupt the protein's structure and function.
Following statistical analysis and tetra ARMS-PCR investigation, it
became apparent that in a population from Pakistan the rs7557194
variant was notably linked to liver cancer. The study underlines that a
target for treatment and a marker for liver cancer diagnosis could be the
R364P mutation of KLF-15. These findings show the potential for the use
of the KLF15 R364P mutation as a liver cancer biomarker, therefore
enabling more precise treatments and improved diagnostics. Future
research with larger sample sizes and different populations should
investigate the functional mechanisms of KLF15 variants in liver cancer
progression utilizing in vitro and in vivo studies, therefore validating our
results.
