The Genomic and Proteomic Profiles of NTRK Genes and Trk Receptors in Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Sep 24, 2026

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The neurotrophic tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene family includes NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3, encoding TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC. This study assessed genomic and proteomic profiles of NTRK genes and Trk receptors in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) by querying multiple bioinformatics databases for expression, protein data, fusion alterations, methylation, and survival associations. Pan-Trk immunohistochemistry was quantified on tumor and para-cancer tissues using an H-score up to 300, with statistical comparisons and survival analyses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages11

Reading Time28 min

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Abstract

Background

Methods

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The Genomic and Proteomic Profiles of NTRK Genes and Trk Receptors in Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma Hejing Wang1,2 ,3 , Lina Qi1,2 ,3 , Chenhan Zhong1,2 ,3 , Xuefeng Fang1,2 ,3 and Ying Yuan1,2 ,3 1Department of Medical Oncology (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Province, China), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. 2Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for CANCER, Hangzhou, China. 3Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China Clinical Medicine Insights: Oncology Volume 17: 1–11 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/11795549231180840](DOI: 10.1177/11795549231180840) ABSTRACT BACKGRouNd: The neurotrophic tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene family includes NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3, which encode tropomyosin receptor kinases TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC, respectively. This study aimed to initially assess the genomic and proteomic profiles of NTRK genes and Trk receptors in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) . MeTHodS: The ONCOMINE, UALCAN, GEPIA, cBioPortal, FusionGDB, SurvivalMeth, and the Human Protein Atlas databases were searched for NTRK gene expression and protein data in LIHC. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect pan-Trk expression across a commercial microarray containing 96 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 94 para-cancerous tissue spots . A modified histological score (H-score) with a maximum score of 300 was used to quantify immunohistochemical staining for pan-Trk. Student’s t- and chi-square tests were the main statistical analyses used. ReSuLTS: The transcriptional levels of NTRK genes in LIHC were not significantly different from healthy controls . Using UALCAN and GEPIA, only high expression of NTRK2 was significantly associated with longer disease-free survival (P = 0. 004) . The alteration frequencies were low (7% in NTRK1, 1.7% in NTRK2, and 2% in NTRK3) . The methylation levels of NTRK genes were all significantly different as analyzed by UALCAN; the high-risk group displayed an unfavorable prognosis compared with the low-risk group for NTRK1 (P = 0. 033) and NTRK3 (P = 0. 005) . The median H-score of pan-Trk in HCC and para-cancerous tissues was not statistically different (186 .31 ± 23.86 and 192.38 ± 21. 06, P = 0. 065) . No differences were observed in clinicopathological features of HCC with the median H-score for pan-Trk expression (p > 0. 05) . The survival rate of patients with pan-Trk expression was also not significantly different. CoNCLuSioN: The alteration frequency was low in NTRK genes, including gene fusion and methylation levels . Therefore, pan-Trk expression in HCC tissue has limited value in clinicopathological features and prognosis . KeywoRdS: Liver hepatocellular carcinoma, NTRK, Trk, bioinformatics, immunohistochemistry ReCeiVed: February 5, 2023. ACCePTed: May 23, 2023. TyPe: Original Research Article FuNdiNG: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Provincial Key R&D Program of Zhejiang Province (Grant number 2021C03125) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 81872481) . deCLARATioN oF CoNFLiCTiNG iNTeReSTS: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. CoRReSPoNdiNG AuTHoRS: Xuefeng Fang, Department of Medical Oncology (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Province, China), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Shangcheng District, Han

FAQs

What was the main objective of the study on NTRK genes and Trk receptors in LIHC?

To initially assess the genomic and proteomic profiles of NTRK genes and Trk receptors in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC).

Which tools and datasets were used to analyze NTRK gene expression and protein data in LIHC?

The study searched ONCOMINE, UALCAN, GEPIA, cBioPortal, FusionGDB, SurvivalMeth, and the Human Protein Atlas databases for NTRK expression and protein data in LIHC.

How was pan-Trk expression measured experimentally in tumor and para-cancer tissues?

Pan-Trk expression was detected by immunohistochemistry using a commercial microarray, and a modified histological score (H-score, maximum 300) quantified staining.

Sep 24, 2026

Upload by Kyle