Comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of ZNF337 as a potential diagnostic, immunological, and prognostic biomarker.

{"sci_version": "1.2", "schema": "https://corpus.bntrg.co.uk/sci/1.0/sci.schema.json", "id": "pmid:39123194", "kind": "science-record", "revision": 4, "content_hash": "sha256:5c45387ec6c1345fae4ee5585de2a77ecec73f86aadcc7b2e7293e2e45fa3bab", "created_at": "2026-11-01T20:29:12Z", "updated_at": "2026-11-01T22:54:53Z", "generator": {"name": "corpus-assay-engine", "run_id": "reading-sci-2026-11-01"}, "paper": {"state": "complete", "title": "Comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of ZNF337 as a potential diagnostic, immunological, and prognostic biomarker.", "doi": "10.1186/s12885-024-12703-x", "pmid": "39123194", "authors": ["Dongxu Zhang", "Pu Liang", "Bowen Xia", "Jitao Wu", "Xiaopeng Hu"], "journal": "BMC cancer", "year": 2024, "abstract": "BACKGROUND: Zinc Finger Protein 337 (ZNF337) is a novel Zinc Finger (ZNF) protein family member. However, the roles of ZNF337 in human cancers have not yet been investigated.\nMETHODS: In this study, with the aid of TCGA databases, GTEx databases, and online websites, we determined the expression levels of ZNF337 in pan-cancer and its potential value as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for pan-cancer and analyzed the relationship between ZNF337 expression and immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint genes. We then focused our research on the potential of ZNF337 as a biomarker for diagnostic and prognostic in KIRC (kidney renal clear cell carcinoma) and validated in the E-MTAB-1980 database. Moreover, the expression of ZNF337 was detected through qRT-PCR and Western blotting (WB). CCK-8 experiment, colony formation experiment, and EDU experiment were performed to evaluate cell proliferation ability. Wound healing assay and transwell assay were used to analyze its migration ability. The qRT-PCR and WB were used to detect the expression of ZNF337 in tumor tissues and paracancerous tissues of KIRC patients.\nRESULTS: The pan-cancer analysis revealed that abnormal ZNF337 expression was found in multiple human cancer types. ZNF337 had a high diagnostic value in pan-cancer and a significant association with the prognosis of certain cancers, indicating that ZNF337 may be a valuable prognostic biomarker for multiple cancers. Further analysis demonstrated that the expression level of ZNF337 displayed significant correlations with cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cell infiltration, and immune checkpoint genes in many tumors. Additionally, ZNF337 was observed to have a high expression in KIRC. Its expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis [overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS)], age, TNM stage, histologic grade, and pathologic stage. The high ZNF337 expression was associated with poor prognosis in the E-MTAB-1980 validation cohort. The in vitro experiments suggested that the expression of ZNF337 in KIRC tumor tissues was higher than in adjacent tissues, and ZNF337 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and migration of KIRC cells, whereas overexpression of ZNF337 had the opposite effects.\nCONCLUSIONS: ZNF337 might be an important prognostic and immunotherapeutic biomarker for pan-cancer, especially in KIRC.", "claims": [{"id": "claim-method", "statement": "The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to measure the area under the ROC curve (AUC) to determine the diagnostic value of ZNF337 for pan-cancer.", "kind": "methodological", "target": null, "evidence": [{"asset": "source:pmid:39123194", "locator": "sections[5] \"Diagnostic value analysis\" paragraph 2", "quote": "The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to measure the area under the ROC curve (AUC) to determine the diagnostic value of ZNF337 for pan-cancer."}], "state": "complete"}, {"id": "claim-data-access", "statement": "Publicly available data sets were utilized in this study. The details are as follows: TIMER database (http://timer.cistrome.org/), the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) (http://www.proteinatlas.org/), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/ccg/research/structural-genomics/tcga), GTEx (https://commonfund.nih.gov/GTEx), STRING website (https://string-db.org/) and GEPIA (http://gepia2.cancer-pku.cn/#index).", "kind": "methodological", "target": null, "evidence": [{"asset": "source:pmid:39123194", "locator": "sections[40] \"notes\" paragraph 1", "quote": "Publicly available data sets were utilized in this study. The details are as follows: TIMER database (http://timer.cistrome.org/), the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) (http://www.proteinatlas.org/), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/ccg/research/structural-genomics/tcga), GTEx (https://commonfund.nih.gov/GTEx), STRING website (https://string-db.org/) and GEPIA (http://gepia2.cancer-pku.cn/#index)."}], "state": "complete"}], "gaps": []}, "experiment": {"state": "complete", "objective": "", "steps": [{"id": "read_published_estimate", "order": 1, "name": "Read the published estimate from the source", "kind": "other", "state": "complete", "blocked_on": null, "description": "The claim, method and evidence span published with the source article.", "duration_hours": null, "parameters": {}, "inputs": ["source:pmid:39123194"], "outputs": ["the published estimate and its evidence"], "instruments": [], "reagents": []}, {"id": "obtain_source_data", "order": 2, "name": "Obtain the source data from the named repository", "kind": "data-preparation", "state": "complete", "blocked_on": null, "description": "The GEO series accession resolves and its sample accessions are listed. This lane did not download the dataset or read its licence.", "duration_hours": null, "parameters": {}, "inputs": ["data:geo:E-MTAB-1980"], "outputs": ["the source data with its repository provenance"], "instruments": [], "reagents": []}, {"id": "run_analysis", "order": 3, "name": "Run the published analysis", "kind": "analysis", "state": "complete", "blocked_on": null, "description": "Apply the paper's statistical method to the resolved series and compare the result with the published target.", "duration_hours": null, "parameters": {}, "inputs": ["data:geo:E-MTAB-1980"], "outputs": ["the replicated result and its comparison"], "instruments": [], "reagents": []}], "materials": [], "instruments": [], "reagents": [], "conditions": {}, "gaps": []}, "data": {"state": "partial", "assets": [{"id": "source:pmid:39123194", "role": "manuscript", "format": "xml", "media_type": "application/xml", "uri": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-12703-x", "sha256": "sha256:a606ff74bc9f9efbfb4e70147fcdecf4c6123549ec5d20be82bfa036b764c3f0", "bytes": 45891, "access": "open", "state": "resolved", "reader": null, "reader_status": "reader_required", "identifier": "10.1186/s12885-024-12703-x", "version": null, "note": "Full article fetched from PMC; the checksum covers the rendered section body, not the original XML bytes.", "structure": {"pmcid": "PMC11313096", "source": "europe_pmc_fulltext", "coverage": "whole_body_without_references", "text_hash_scope": "rendered_section_body"}}, {"id": "data:geo:E-MTAB-1980", "role": "raw", "format": "geo-series", "media_type": "application/vnd.ncbi.geo-series+json", "uri": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=E-MTAB-1980", "sha256": null, "bytes": null, "access": "open", "state": "resolved", "reader": null, "reader_status": "reader_required", "identifier": "E-MTAB-1980", "version": null, "note": "Publicly available data sets were utilized in this study. The details are as follows: TIMER database (http://timer.cistrome.org/), the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) (http://www.proteinatlas.org/), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/ccg/research/structural-genomics/tcga), GTEx (https://commonfund.nih.gov/GTEx), STRING website (https://string-db.org/) and GEPIA (http://gepia2.cancer-pku.cn/#index).", "structure": {"repository": "GEO", "access_route": "GEO accession URL", "access_statement_verbatim": "Publicly available data sets were utilized in this study. 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CCK-8 experiment, colony formation exp"], "order_basis": "paper_text_order:842", "id": "assay:1"}, {"role": "data_generation", "definition_id": "apoptosis_assay", "definition_version": "99e1195c7d6f", "definition_digest": null, "required_operations": [], "support_state": "partial", "source_hashes": {"assay_lexicon": "99e1195c7d6f"}, "confidence": 0.93, "evidence": ["d through qRT-PCR and Western blotting (WB). CCK-8 experiment, colony formation experiment, and"], "order_basis": "paper_text_order:865", "id": "assay:2"}, {"role": "data_generation", "definition_id": "transfection", "definition_version": "99e1195c7d6f", "definition_digest": null, "required_operations": [], "support_state": "partial", "source_hashes": {"assay_lexicon": "99e1195c7d6f"}, "confidence": 0.99, "evidence": ["higher than in adjacent tissues, and ZNF337 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and migration of", "by cytoHubba in Cytoscape. Cell culture and transfection Normal human renal epithelial cell lines (HK", "zhou Jima Gene Co. Ltd. (Suzhou, China), and transfected to cells by RNAiMAX (Invitrogen, USA). The s", "ol, overexpression plasmids were transiently transfected using jetPRIME reagents (Polyplus, France)."], "order_basis": "paper_text_order:2203", "id": "assay:3"}, {"role": "data_generation", "definition_id": "cell_culture", "definition_version": "99e1195c7d6f", "definition_digest": null, "required_operations": [], "support_state": "partial", "source_hashes": {"assay_lexicon": "99e1195c7d6f"}, "confidence": 0.85, "evidence": ["emy of Sciences Cell Bank (Shanghai, China). Cell lines were cultured according to their instruction. All siRNAs ("], "order_basis": "paper_text_order:3549", "id": "assay:4"}, {"role": "analysis", "definition_id": "survival_analysis", "definition_version": "f2132e96ae6c7a4e", "definition_digest": null, "required_operations": ["survival_km"], "support_state": "supported", "source_hashes": {"dsl_catalogue": "f2132e96ae6c7a4e"}, "confidence": 1.0, "evidence": ["The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to measure the area under the ROC curve (AUC) to determine the diagnostic value of ZNF337 for pan-cancer."], "order_basis": "consumes_earlier_output", "id": "assay:5"}]}