GIMAP8 is a promising prognostic biomarker correlated with immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background GIMAP8 reportedly regulates the progression of several cancers. However, data regarding its prognostic value in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are limited. We aimed to investigate the correlation between GIMAP8 expression, prognosis, and tumor infiltration in LUAD. Material and methods The expression and prognostic value of GIMAP8 in LUAD were explored using public The Cancer Genome Atlas-LUAD databases and validated using multiple resources, including the Human Protein Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis, OncoLnc, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and univariate and multivariate analyses. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to investigate the biological roles of GIMAP8. The ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms, The Cancer Immunome Database, and ssGSEA analyses were used to investigate the correlation between GIMAP8 expression and cancer immune characteristics. Results Low GIMAP8 expression was observed in LUAD compared to that in normal lung tissues, whereas high GIMAP8 expression correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and increased overall survival (OS). ROC analysis confirmed GIMAP8 to have a high diagnostic value for LUAD. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses further confirmed that GIMAP8 expression was an independent risk factor for OS in patients with LUAD. GO, KEGG and GSEA showed that immune responses were the most enriched terms. We identified six positively correlated CMKLR1, GIMAP7, GIMAP4, FLI1, GIMAP1, and GIMAP6) and five negatively correlated (PSMG3, MRPS15, UQCC2, COX5B, and ZNF593) coexpression genes, most of which are involved in immune effector processes. Specifically, GIMAP8 had a significant negative correlation with infiltrating cells, such as T, mast, plasma, and dendritic cells, and a positive association with CD4, M1, mast, and M2 cells in LUAD. GIMAP8 was significantly associated with important immune checkpoints. Conclusion GIMAP8 is a promising prognostic biomarker in LUAD and its expression was related to immune cell infiltration.