ENTPD1 (CD39) and NT5E (CD73) expression in human Medulloblastoma: an in silico analysis

Abstract Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant tumor in the pediatric population. Its classification has incorporated key molecular variations alongside histological characterization. CD39 (also known as ENTPD1) and CD73 (also known as NT5E), enzymes of the purinergic signaling pathway, act in synergy to generate extracellular adenosine, creating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Our study examined the expression of mRNA of these genes in previously described transcriptome data sets of medulloblastoma patient samples from the Cavalli Cohort (n =763). Survival distribution was estimated according to the Kaplan–Meier method using a median cut-off and log-rank statistics; p ≤0.05. The high expression of NT5E and ENTPD1 in non-WNT and non-SHH medulloblastoma Group 4 was significantly related to a lower survival (p =2.7e-04;p =2.6e-03). The high expression of NT5E in the SHH-activated group (n =172) was significantly related to greater overall survival (p =0.017), while high expression of ENTPD1 was significantly related to lower overall survival (p =7.8e-03). The expressions of NT5E and ENTPD1 were not significantly correlated with overall survival in the WNT group (n =63;p =0.212;p =0.101). The expression of NT5E in non-WNT and non-SHH medulloblastoma Group 3 (n =113) was not significantly related to survival of patients (p= 0.124), while high expression of ENTPD1 was significantly related to greater survival (p =0.034). This in silico analysis indicates that ENTPD1 (CD39) and NT5E (CD73) can be seen as potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for primary medulloblastomas in non-WNT and non-SHH Group 4.