Connecting METTL3 and intratumoural CD33+ MDSCs in predicting clinical outcome in cervical cancer

Abstract

Background: Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is a member of the m6A methyltransferase family and acts as an oncogene in cancers. Recent studies suggest that host innate immunity is regulated by the enzymes controlling m6A epitranscriptomic changes. Here, we aim to explore the associations between the levels of METTL3 and CD33+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in tumour tissues and the survival of patients with cervical cancer (CC).Methods: Paraffin tumour specimens from 197 CC patients were collected. The expression of METTL3 and CD33 was measured by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The clinical associations of the IHC variants were analysed by Pearson's and Spearman's chi-square tests. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test. Hazard ratios (HRs) and independent significance were obtained via Cox proportional hazards models for multivariate analyses.Results: We found that tumour tissues displayed increased levels of METTL3 and CD33+ MDSCs compared with tumour adjacent tissues from the same CC patients. Importantly, METTL3 expression was positively related to the density of CD33+ cells in tumour tissues (P = 0.011). The level of METTL3 in tumour microenvironments was significantly related to advanced tumour stages. The levels of METTL3 and CD33+ MDSCs in tumour tissues were notably associated with reduced DFS or OS. The Cox model analysis revealed that the level of METTL3 in tumour cells was an independent factor for patient survival, specifically for DFS (HR = 3.157, P = 0.022) and OS (HR = 3.271, P = 0.012), while CD33+ MDSC number was an independent predictor for DFS (HR: 3.958, P = 0.031). Interestingly, in patients with advanced-disease stages (II-IV), METTL3 in tumour cells was an independent factor for DFS (HR = 6.725, P= 0.010) and OS (HR = 5.140, P= 0.021), while CD33+ MDSC density was an independent factor for OS (HR = 8.802, P = 0.037).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that CD33+ MDSC expansion is linked to high levels of METTL3 and that METTL3 and CD33+ MDSCs are independent prognostic factors in CC.