Selenium May Be Involved in Esophageal Squamous Cancer Prevention by Affecting GPx3 and FABP1 Expression - A Case-Control Study Based on Bioinformatic Analysis

Sep 21, 2026

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The role of selenium in the development of esophageal cancer requires further clarification. A case-control study combined bioinformatic analysis to examine how selenium-related factors associate with esophageal cancer and its precancerous stage. Using GEPIA and TCGA, differential expression of GPx3 was assessed, DEGs were identified, and visualization analyses were performed. In parallel, 100 pairs of dietary and plasma samples from esophageal precancerous lesions cases and healthy controls were analyzed with ICP-MS or ELISA. Results showed lower GPx3 in tumor tissues than in normal tissues; DEGs highlighted fat digestion and absorption pathways, and FABP1 was upregulated and inversely correlated with GPx3. Selenium itself was not linked to risk, but decreased GPx3 and increased FABP1 correlated positively with esophageal precancerous lesion risk, suggesting selenium may prevent ESCC at this stage via GPx3 and FABP1.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Epidemiology and prevention rationale

Methods

Bioinformatic analyses (GEPIA and TCGA)

Case-control sampling and laboratory assays

Results

GPx3 expression differences

DEGs and FABP1 association

nutrients Article Selenium May Be Involved in Esophageal Squamous Cancer Prevention by Affecting GPx3 and FABP1 Expression: A Case-Control Study Based on Bioinformatic Analysis Niannian Wang 1, Da Pan 1, Xiaopan Zhu 1, Xingyuan Ren 1, Xingyi Jin 1, Xiangjun Chen 1,2, Yuanyuan Wang 1, Ming Su 3, Guiju Sun 1 and Shaokang Wang 1,2, * Citation: Wang, N.; Pan, D.; Zhu, X.; Ren, X.; Jin, X.; Chen, X.; Wang, Y.; Su, M.; Sun, G.; Wang, S. Selenium May Be Involved in Esophageal Squamous Cancer Prevention by Affecting GPx3 and FABP1 Expression: A CaseControl Study Based on Bioinformatic Analysis. Nutrients 2024, 16, 1322 . [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)nu16091322 Academic Editors: Domenico Tafuriand Francesca Latino Received: 17 March 2024 Revised: 17 April 2024 Accepted: 25 April 2024 Published: 28 April 2024 Correction Statement: This article has been republished with a minor change. The change does not affect the scientific content of the article and further details are available within the backmatter of the website version of this article. Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China; [wangnian-nian@foxmail.com](wangnian-nian@foxmail.com) (N.W.); [pantianqi92@foxmail.com](pantianqi92@foxmail.com) (D.P.); [zhuxiaopandhr@163.com](zhuxiaopandhr@163.com) (X.Z.); [mn13451537048@126.com](mn13451537048@126.com) (X.R.); [xingyijin@foxmail.com](xingyijin@foxmail.com) (X.J.); [cxjll910@163.com](cxjll910@163.com) (X.C.); [230218460@seu.edu.cn](230218460@seu.edu.cn) (Y.W.); [gjsun@seu.edu.cn](gjsun@seu.edu.cn) (G.S.) 2 Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang 712000, China 3 Huai’an District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Huai’an 223001, China; [suminglala@163.com](suminglala@163.com) * Correspondence: [shaokangwang@seu.edu.cn](shaokangwang@seu.edu.cn); Tel.: +86-153-1206-0480 Abstract: The role of selenium in the developmental process of esophageal cancer (EC) requires further investigation. To explore the relationship between selenium-related factors and EC through bioinformatic analysis, a case-control study was conducted to verify the results. Utilizing the GEPIA and TCGA databases, we delineated the differential expression of glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) in EC and normal tissues, identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and a performed visualization analysis. Additionally, 100 pairs of dietary and plasma samples from esophageal precancerous lesions (EPLs) of esophageal squamous cancer (ESCC) cases and healthy controls from Huai’an district, Jiangsu, were screened. The levels of dietary selenium, plasma selenium, and related enzymes were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or ELISA kits. The results showed lower GPx3 expression in tumor tissues compared to normal tissues. Further analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly involved in the fat digestion and absorption pathway, and the core protein fatty acid binding protein 1 (FABP1) was significantly upregulated and negatively correlated with GPx3 expression. Our case-control study found that selenium itself was not associated with EPLs risk. However, both the decreased concentration of GPx3 and the increase in FABP1 were positively correlated with the EPLs risk (p for trend = 0.035 and 0.046, respectively) . The different expressions of GPx3 and FABP1 reflect the potential of selenium for preventing ESCC at the EPLs

FAQs

What was the study’s main purpose regarding selenium and esophageal cancer?

To investigate how selenium-related factors relate to esophageal cancer by combining bioinformatic analysis with a case-control design.

What bioinformatic resources were used to study GPx3 and related genes?

The study used GEPIA and TCGA databases to evaluate differential expression of GPx3 and to identify differentially expressed genes.

Did selenium concentration itself show an association with risk?

No. The case-control results found that selenium itself was not associated with esophageal precancerous lesion risk.

How are GPx3 and FABP1 related to precancerous lesion risk in the results?

Lower GPx3 expression and higher FABP1 were both positively correlated with esophageal precancerous lesion risk, with reported trend p-values.

Sep 21, 2026

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