Date of Submission
6-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology
Department
Biology and Environmental Sciences
Advisor
Rasmani Hazra, Ph.D
Committee Member
Khaled Sayed, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Raditya Utama, Ph.D.
Keywords
Cancer/Testis Antigens (CTAs), Glioblastoma (GBM), Long Non-Coding RNA (lncRNA), Testis-Specific Genes (TSGs), Biomarker, Immunotherapeutic Targeting
MeSH
Glioblastoma, RNA--Long Noncoding, Biomarkers--Tumor, Immunotherapy
LCSH
Glioblastoma multiforme, Biomarkers, Immunotherapy
Abstract
ancer/Testis Antigens (CTAs) represent a class of tumor-associated genes characterized by a highly restricted expression pattern in testis and aberrant reactivation in various malignancies including Glioblastoma (GBM). Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive malignant primary brain tumor, with an overall median survival of approximately 13 months. Despite advancements in standard treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, GBM's high heterogeneity and resistance mechanisms significantly limit therapeutic success. In this study, we analyzed RNA-seq data from 29 different tissue types, comprising over 3,000 samples, to perform a comprehensive screening of Cancer/Testis Antigens (CTAs) in glioblastoma (GBM), implementing a multi-level filtering strategy. Although GBM has traditionally been considered a “CTApoor” tumor, by leveraging the most recent genome annotation (GENCODE v47), we expanded the repertoire of testis-specific genes (TSGs)—and consequently of CTA candidates—particularly within the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) landscape. Subsequently we investigated the expression of TSGs in GBM using transcriptomic data from 191 TCGA samples. We identified 23 candidate CTAs expressed in GBM, of which 19 were lncRNAs. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that several of these genes were significantly associated with patient prognosis, particularly the lncRNA NOVA1-DT shown to be strongly related to good prognosis if highly expressed. Our findings underscore the value of updated genomic annotations and multi-metric strategies in refining CTA discovery, and they highlight lncRNA-derived CTAs as a promising but underexplored avenue for biomarker development and potential immunotherapeutic targeting in GBM.
Recommended Citation
Palanca, Mattia, "Comprehensive Profiling of Cancer Testis Genes In Glioblastoma: A Bioinformatics and Expression-Based Approach" (2025). Master's Theses. 264.
https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/masterstheses/264