Systematic evaluation of the prognostic and immunological role of PDLIM2 across 33 cancer types

Abstract

Abstract The protein PDLIM2 regulates the stability of various transcription factors and is required for polarized cell migration. However, the clinical relevance and immune infiltration of PDLIM2 in cancer are not well-understood. We utilized The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression database to characterize alterations in PDLIM2 in pan-cancer. TIMER was used to explore PDLIM2 expression and immune infiltration levels. We assessed the correlation between PDLIM2 expression and immune-associated gene expression, immune score, tumor mutation burden, and DNA microsatellite instability. PDLIM2 significantly affected the prognosis of various cancers. Increased expression of PDLIM2 was significantly correlated with the tumor grade in seven types of tumors. The expression level of PDLIM2 was positively correlated with immune infiltrates, including B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells in bladder urothelial, kidney renal papillary cell, and colon adenocarcinoma. High expression levels of PDLIM2 tended to be associated with higher immune and stromal scores. PDLIM2 expression was associated with the tumor mutation burden in 12 cancer types and microsatellite instability in 5 cancer types. PDLIM2 levels were strongly correlated with diverse immune-related genes. PDLIM2 can act as a prognostic-related therapeutic target and is correlated with immune infiltrates in pan-cancer.