An immune-related prognostic gene ULBP2 is correlated with immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy in breast cancer
Rui Feng,
Jiali Xu,
Jing Huang,
Jiazhou Liu,
Xiaoyu Wang,
Jing Wang,
Chong Zhang,
Hongzhong Li,
Yuxian Wei,
Guosheng Ren
Affiliations
Rui Feng
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Jiali Xu
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Jing Huang
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Jiazhou Liu
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Xiaoyu Wang
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Jing Wang
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Chong Zhang
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Hongzhong Li
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
Yuxian Wei
Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Corresponding author.
Guosheng Ren
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China; Corresponding author. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the major dangerous tumors threatening women's lives. We here aimed to sort out prognostic immune-related genes by univariate Cox regression analysis and build a model of immune-related genes for forecasting the prognosis of BC patients. We identified UL16 binding protein 2 (ULBP2) as a valuable gene for study in the model using related databases and algorithms analysis. We found the stromal and immune cells scores were higher in ULBP2 high expression group and ULBP2 was related to kinds of immune cells, most importantly had negative correlation with CD8+ T cell. Notably, ULBP2 was positively correlated with tumor mutational burden (TMB) and had relationship with many immune checkpoints. Correlation analysis revealed that ULBP2 expression was closely linked to the clinicopathological characters and negatively related to BC patient survival. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed the functional enrichment of differential genes related to ULBP2. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) indicated pathway enrichment in ULBP2 high and low expression groups. In short, this study comprehensively investigated the potential function of ULBP2 in BC, which might make ULBP2 to be an important therapeutic target for BC.