Abstract:
Background Variations in untranslated regions (UTR) alter regulatory pathways impacting phenotype, disease
onset, and course of disease. Protein kinase C Zeta (PRKCZ), a serine-threonine kinase, is implicated in cardiovascular,
neurological and oncological disorders. Due to limited research on PRKCZ, this study aimed to investigate the impact
of UTR genetic variants’ on binding sites for transcription factors and miRNA. RNA secondary structure, eQTLs, and
variation tolerance analysis were also part of the study.
Methods The data related to PRKCZ gene variants was downloaded from the Ensembl genome browser, COSMIC
and gnomAD. The RegulomeDB database was used to assess the functional impact of 5’ UTR and 3’UTR variants. The
analysis of the transcription binding sites (TFBS) was done through the Alibaba tool, and the Kyoto Encyclopaedia
of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) was employed to identify pathways associated with PRKCZ. To predict the effect of
variants on microRNA binding sites, PolymiRTS was utilized for 3’ UTR variants, and the SNPinfo tool was used for 5’
UTR variants.
Results The results obtained indicated that a total of 24 variants present in the 3’ UTR and 25 variants present in the
5’ UTR were most detrimental. TFBS analysis revealed that 5’ UTR variants added YY1, repressor, and Oct1, whereas 3’
UTR variants added AP-2alpha, AhR, Da, GR, and USF binding sites. The study predicted TFs that influenced PRKCZ
expression. RNA secondary structure analysis showed that eight 5’ UTR and six 3’ UTR altered the RNA structure by
either removal or addition of the stem-loop. The microRNA binding site analysis highlighted that seven 3’ UTR and one
5’ UTR variant altered the conserved site and also created new binding sites. eQTLs analysis showed that one variant
was associated with PRKCZ expression in the lung and thyroid. The variation tolerance analysis revealed that PRKCZ
was an intolerant gene.
Conclusion This study laid the groundwork for future studies aimed at targeting PRKCZ as a therapeutic target.
