Ubiquitin ligase RNF5 serves an important role in the development of human glioma

The ubiquitin ligase ring finger protein 5 (RNF5) has previously been associated with the development of breast cancer. Patients with breast cancer and high RNF5 expression have been demonstrated to have a shorter survival time compared with patients with low RNF5 expression. However, the role of RNF5 in human glioma has not been determined. The present study analyzed the role of RNF5 in gliomas using bioinformatics analysis. The results revealed that RNF5 was differentially expressed in non-cancerous brain tissues and different grades of glioma. Furthermore, a high RNF5 expression in patients with glioma was associated with an improved prognosis compared with patients with low expression. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis revealed that RNF5 was particularly associated with ‘Wnt signaling pathway’, ‘apoptosis’, ‘focal adhesion’ and ‘cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction’ in patients with glioma. Additionally, 4 potential ubiquitination substrates for RNF5 were predicted, including sorting nexin 10, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1, leucine rich glioma inactivated 1 and solute carrier family 39 member 12. These findings provided the basis for further investigation on the role of RNF5 in tumors.