Chen Weiwei, Ji Yaya, Wang Rui, Ji Ruijie, Lin Yujian, Wu Yuhang, Liu Lehan, Sha Tianle, Li Wen, Zhang Lei, Yang Longfei, Zhang Xinhua, Song Jianxiang
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Yancheng School of Clinical Medicine of Nanjing Medical University, Yancheng, 224002, China.
Department of Radiotherapy, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, The Yancheng School of Clinical Medicine of Nanjing Medical University, Yancheng, 224002, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Dec 31;11(1):e41587. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41587. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
Research has demonstrated that POU3F4 is integral to various cancers, in addition to its significance in inner ear development, pancreatic differentiation, as well as neural stem cell differentiation. Nevertheless, comprehensive pan-cancer analyses focusing on POU3F4 remain limited. This study aims to assess the prognostic value of POU3F4 in thirty-three cancers and explore its immune-related functions. Based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTE), and Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA), we employed various bioinformatics approaches to investigate the potential carcinogenic effects of POU3F4. Our study encompassed DNA methylation, RNA methylation, tumor mutation burden (TMB), mismatch repair (MMR) genes, microsatellite instability (MSI), the relationship between POU3F4 and prognosis, and immune cell infiltration (ICI) across different tumors. The analysis revealed that POU3F4 expression is typically low in most cancers but is elevated in breast invasive carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), liver hepatocellular carcinoma, and thyroid carcinoma, with the highest levels in GBM. Additionally, POU3F4 expression correlates with cancer prognosis, either positively or negatively. The expression of POU3F4 demonstrated significant associations with MSI in four cancers and TMB in six cancers. POU3F4 expression was significantly linked to DNA methylation in 13 cancer types and RNA methylation in most cancers. It also correlated with the tumor immune microenvironment, immune-related genes, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and drug resistance in various cancers. experiments demonstrated that POU3F4 enhances cell viability, proliferation, and migration in GBM. Our findings indicate that, given its critical role in carcinogenesis and tumor immunity, POU3F4 serves as a prognostic marker in diverse malignancies.
研究表明，POU3F4除了在内耳发育、胰腺分化以及神经干细胞分化中具有重要意义外，在多种癌症中也不可或缺。然而，针对POU3F4的全面泛癌分析仍然有限。本研究旨在评估POU3F4在33种癌症中的预后价值，并探索其免疫相关功能。基于来自癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）、癌细胞系百科全书（CCLE）、基因型-组织表达（GTE）和基因集癌症分析（GSCA）的数据，我们采用了各种生物信息学方法来研究POU3F4的潜在致癌作用。我们的研究涵盖了DNA甲基化、RNA甲基化、肿瘤突变负担（TMB）、错配修复（MMR）基因、微卫星不稳定性（MSI）、POU3F4与预后的关系以及不同肿瘤中的免疫细胞浸润（ICI）。分析显示，POU3F4在大多数癌症中的表达通常较低，但在乳腺浸润性癌、多形性胶质母细胞瘤（GBM）、肝细胞肝癌和甲状腺癌中升高，在GBM中水平最高。此外，POU3F4的表达与癌症预后呈正相关或负相关。POU3F4的表达在4种癌症中与MSI显著相关，在6种癌症中与TMB显著相关。POU3F4的表达在13种癌症类型中与DNA甲基化显著相关，在大多数癌症中与RNA甲基化显著相关。它还与各种癌症中的肿瘤免疫微环境、免疫相关基因、免疫检查点抑制剂和耐药性相关。实验表明，POU3F4可增强GBM中的细胞活力、增殖和迁移。我们的研究结果表明，鉴于其在致癌作用和肿瘤免疫中的关键作用，POU3F4可作为多种恶性肿瘤的预后标志物。
