Effects of Asprosin and Role of TLR4 as a Biomarker in Endometrial Cancer

Abstract

(1) Background: Following the discovery of the adipokine/hormone asprosin, a substantial amount of research has provided evidence for its role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis, as well as appetite, and insulin sensitivity. Its levels are dysregulated in certain disease states, including breast cancer. To date, little is known about its role in endometrial cancer (EC). The present study investigated the effects of asprosin on the transcriptome of the Ishikawa and NOU-1 EC cell lines, and assessed the expression of asprosin’s candidate receptors (TLR4, PTPRD, and OR4M1) in health and disease. (2) Methods: tissue culture, RNA extraction, RNA sequencing, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, gene enrichment and in silico analyses were used for this study. (3) Results: TLR4 and PTPRD were significantly downregulated in EC when compared to healthy controls. TLR4 appeared to have a prognostic role in terms of overall survival (OS) in EC patients (i.e., higher expression, better OS). RNA sequencing revealed that asprosin affected 289 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in Ishikawa cells and 307 DEGs in NOU-1 cells. Pathway enrichment included apoptosis, glycolysis, hypoxia, and PI3K/AKT/ mTOR/NOTCH signalling for Ishikawa-treated cells. In NOU-1, enriched processes included inflammatory response, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, reactive oxygen species pathways, and interferon gamma responses. Other signalling pathways included mTORC1, DNA repair, and p53, amongst others. (4) Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of understanding receptor dynamics and signalling pathways in the context of asprosin’s role in EC, and provide evidence for a potential role of TLR4 as a diagnostic biomarker.