Mrps23, a nuclear gene, encodes mitochondrial ribosomal protein S23, a component of the ribosome small subunit in mitochondria. Mitochondrial ribosomal proteins are essential for the structural and functional integrity of the mitoribosome complex, participating in mitochondrial protein translation [3,4].

Studies have found that MRPS23 is overexpressed in various cancers such as glioma, breast cancer, and osteosarcoma. In glioma, higher MRPS23 expression correlates with poorer prognosis, unfavorable histological features, and is independently prognostic of overall survival, disease-free survival, and progression-free survival. KEGG enrichment analysis indicates it is associated with cell proliferation and immune response-related signaling pathways. Knockdown of MRPS23 in glioma cell lines significantly reduces cell survival, proliferation, and migration [1]. In breast cancer, MRPS23 amplification is associated with non-basal subtypes and higher tumour cell proliferation, and high expression is associated with the Luminal B subtype. Also, its methylation and phosphorylation have been shown to regulate breast cancer cell metastasis and proliferation respectively [2,5,7]. In osteosarcoma, down-regulation of MRPS23 inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cell proliferation and invasion both in vitro and in vivo by regulating the NF-κB signaling pathway [6].

In conclusion, Mrps23 plays a crucial role in mitochondrial protein translation. Its overexpression in cancers like glioma, breast cancer, and osteosarcoma promotes cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target in these disease areas. Functional studies, especially through knockdown experiments in cell lines, have revealed its role in cancer-related biological processes [1,2,6,7].

References:

1. Wang, Qiang, Chen, Guiqing, Liu, Liang, Yang, Ling, Li, Chunhong. 2024. MRPS23 is a novel prognostic biomarker and promotes glioma progression. In Aging, 16, 2457-2474. doi:10.18632/aging.205493. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38301044/

2. Klæstad, Elise, Opdahl, Signe, Engstrøm, Monica Jernberg, Bofin, Anna Mary, Valla, Marit. 2020. MRPS23 amplification and gene expression in breast cancer; association with proliferation and the non-basal subtypes. In Breast cancer research and treatment, 180, 73-86. doi:10.1007/s10549-020-05532-6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31950385/

3. Ittiwut, Chupong, Ittiwut, Rungnapa, Kuptanon, Chulaluck, Suphapeetiporn, Kanya, Shotelersuk, Vorasuk. 2023. Genetic, metabolic and clinical delineation of an MRPS23-associated mitochondrial disorder. In Scientific reports, 13, 22005. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-49161-7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38086984/

4. Cheong, Agnes, Lingutla, Ranjana, Mager, Jesse. 2020. Expression analysis of mammalian mitochondrial ribosomal protein genes. In Gene expression patterns : GEP, 38, 119147. doi:10.1016/j.gep.2020.119147. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32987154/

5. Liu, Lingxia, Zhang, Xiliu, Ding, Huayi, Zhang, Yu, Lu, Jun. 2021. Arginine and lysine methylation of MRPS23 promotes breast cancer metastasis through regulating OXPHOS. In Oncogene, 40, 3548-3563. doi:10.1038/s41388-021-01785-7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33927350/

6. Liu, Ai-Guo, Xu, Ke-Lin, Wang, Wei-Lin, Zhou, Bing-Kang, Guo, Qing-Gong. 2019. Down-regulation of MRPS23 inhibits LPS-induced proliferation and invasion via regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in osteosarcoma cells. In RSC advances, 9, 10561-10568. doi:10.1039/c8ra08973f. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35515333/

7. Oviya, Revathi Paramasivam, Thangaretnam, Krishna Priya, Ramachandran, Balaji, Gopal, Gopisetty, Rajkumar, Thangarajan. 2022. Mitochondrial ribosomal small subunit (MRPS) MRPS23 protein-protein interaction reveals phosphorylation by CDK11-p58 affecting cell proliferation and knockdown of MRPS23 sensitizes breast cancer cells to CDK1 inhibitors. In Molecular biology reports, 49, 9521-9534. doi:10.1007/s11033-022-07842-y. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35962848/