Abstract:  Objective  To explore the expression pattern, clinical prognostic value and molecular mechanism of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C(UBE2C) in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma(KIRC). Methods  The difference of UBE2C gene expression in KIRC tissue and normal tissue was analyzed by The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA) and Human Protein Atlas(HPA). Combined with clinical information of KIRC patients, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis models were used to study the prognostic value of UBE2C gene in KIRC patients. Through gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA) of UBE2C gene, we understood the molecular mechanism of UBE2C regulating KIRC. The infiltrating immune cells content in KIRC patients were calculated, and the correlation between UBE2C gene expression level and immune cells infiltration content were evaluated. ResultsBoth gene and protein expression levels of UBE2C in KIRC tissues were higher than those in normal tissues (P<0.05). The expression of UBE2C in KIRC was correlated with tumor location, histological grade, pathological stage and TNM stage(P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis cleared that UBE2C was an independent prognostic factor for KIRC(P<0.05). GSEA results suggested that UBE2C could be involved in the regulation of cytokinecytokine receptor interactions, cell cycle checkpoints, ECM glycoproteins and other signaling pathways. The expression level of UBE2C gene was significantly correlated with the infiltration of Treg cells, T cells, Th17 cells, B cells, CD8+T cells and macrophages in the tumor microenvironment of KIRC. UBE2C was also significantly correlated with the expression levels of immune checkpoint molecules PDCD1 (PD1), CTLA4, CD27 and LAG3. Conclusion  UBE2C can serve as a risk prognostic factor for KIRC patients, and UBE2C may be a potential target for KIRC treatment.

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