Association of mRNA expression levels of Cullin family members with prognosis in breast cancer: An online database analysis

Cullin proteins couple with RING-finger proteins, adaptor proteins and substrate recognition receptors to form E3 ubiquitin ligases for recognizing numerous substrates and participating in a variety of cellular processes, especially in genome stability and tumorigenesis. However, the prognostic values of Cullins in breast cancer remain elusive. A “Kaplan–Meier plotter” (KM plotter) online survival analysis tool was used to evaluate the association of individual Cullin members’ mRNA expression with overall survival (OS) in breast cancer patients. Our results revealed that elevated mRNA expression of CUL4A and PARC were significantly associated with poor OS for breast cancer patients. While high mRNA expression of CUL2, CUL4B, and CUL5 were correlated with better survival for breast cancers. The associated results suggested that some Cullin members could serve as new predictive prognostic indicators for breast cancer.