Interleukin 20 receptor A expression in colorectal cancer and its clinical significance

Background: Interleukin 20 receptor A (IL20RA) has been shown to play a role in the establishment and progression of multiple tumors. However, the expression of this protein in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its correlation with the clinicopathological parameters of CRC have remained unclear.

Methods: A total of 323 paraffin sections including CRC tissues and adjacent normal tissues after surgery were collected. IL20RA protein expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The difference expression of IL20RA mRNA between CRC and normal tissues was also explored in the Oncomine and GEO databases. In addition, the IL20RA-related differentially expressed genes were analyzed in TCGA database and enrichment analysis was conducted to explore the cell functions and pathways related to IL20RA expression.

Results: There was increased IL20RA expression in CRC compared with that in normal tissues. High IL20RA expression was associated with greater tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, and poor TNM stage in CRC, while also being suggestive of poor prognosis. The main pathways of IL20RA-related differentially expressed genes in TCGA were protein heterodimerization activity, oxygen binding, oxygen transporter activity, hormone activity, and lipid transporter activity. Meanwhile, IL20RA-related differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in peroxidase, nucleotide stimulant repair, fatty acid metabolism, basal transcription factor, and RNA degradation.

Conclusions: IL20RA might have a role as a biomarker for CRC. Its upregulation might contribute to an aggressive phenotype in CRC. IL20RA's involvement in the development and progression of CRC might occur through it affecting fatty acid metabolism, oxygen binding, oxygen transport, and hormone activity.