Role of Cuproptosis and Hippo Pathway in the Prognosis of Skin Cutaneous Melanoma

According to a study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, understanding the interplay between cuproptosis, Hippo pathway, and immune response may offer novel avenues for melanoma treatment strategies, paving the way for personalized and more effective therapies.

Researchers examined the correlation between cuproptosis-related and Hippo pathway-related genes and melanoma prognosis using public databases and experimental validation. Eight downregulated Hippo pathway-related genes were identified, showing prognostic significance in melanoma. Analysis revealed a positive correlation between cuproptosis-related and Hippo pathway-related gene expression in melanoma. Notably, YAP1 expression positively correlated with ferredoxin 1 expression, both in datasets and melanoma cells.

Furthermore, YAP1 expression exhibited correlations with immune cell infiltration, specifically M2 macrophages and regulatory T cells. These findings underscored the prognostic utility of Hippo pathway-related genes, particularly YAP1, in melanoma and unveiled associations with immune infiltration.

“Thus, the present findings may provide new clues on the prognostic assessment of patients with melanoma and a new target for the immunotherapy of this disease,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Lv H, Liu L, He Y, Yang K, Fu Y, Bao Y. Role of hippo pathway and cuproptosis-related genes in immune infiltration and prognosis of skin cutaneous melanoma. Front Pharmacol. Published online March 7, 2024. doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1344755