Background. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) can degrade the extracellular matrix and participate in tumor progression. The relationship between MMP-9 and immune cells has been reported in various malignant tumors. However, there is a lack of comprehensive pan-cancer studies on the relationship between MMP-9 and cancer prognosis and immune infiltration. Method. We used data from TCGA and GTEx databases to comprehensively analyze the differential expression of MMP-9 in normal and cancerous tissues. Survival analysis was performed to understand the prognostic role of MMP-9 in different tumors. We then analyzed the expression of MMP-9 across different tumors and at different clinical stages. Based on the results, we assessed the correlation between MMP-9 expression and immune-associated genes and immunocytes. Finally, we calculated the tumor mutation burden (TMB) of 33 cancer types and analyzed the correlation between MMP-9 and TMB, DNA microsatellite instability, and DNA repair genes. Results. MMP-9 significantly affected the prognosis and metastasis of various cancers. It was associated based on overall survival, disease-specific survival in five tumors, progression-free interval in seven tumors, and clinical stage in eight tumors, as well as with prognosis and metastasis in adrenocortical carcinoma and kidney renal clear cell carcinoma. It was also coexpressed with immune-related genes and DNA repair genes. The expression of MMP-9 was positively correlated with the markers of T cells, tumor-associated macrophages, Th1 cells, and T cell exhaustion. Furthermore, MMP-9 expression was highly correlated with macrophage M0 in 28 tumors. In addition, its expression was associated with TMB in eight cancer types and DNA microsatellite instability in six cancer types. Conclusion. MMP-9 is related to immune infiltration in pan-cancer and can be used as a biomarker related to cancer prognosis and metastasis. Our findings provide prognostic molecular markers and new ideas for immunotherapy.
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.
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