Prognostic and Therapeutic Value of NK1R: Correlation between Function in Immune Infiltration and Expression in Tumor Microenvironment

Abstract

Background: NK1R is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammation. Although the function of NK1R in several types of cancer has been confirmed, relationship between the function of NK1R in inflammation and NK1R expression in tumor microenvironment is still absent, and the detailed immune mechanism remains unknown. Methods: We took advantage of TCGA, TARGET, GTEx, and other open access data to conduct pan-cancer analysis including differential expression, prognostic signature, gene set enrichment and tumor immunity in R. Results: NK1R was significantly up-regulated in 7 tumors and down-regulated in 23 tumors and possessed a strong correlation with clinical prognosis. Upregulated NK1R was related to the immune-related process and pathways. The positive correlation between NK1R expression and enhancement of RNA modification as well as immune regulation in most tumors indicated NK1R could function by up-regulating the modification and regulatory genes. Moreover, NK1R could improve the immune infiltration in most tumors, but reduce that in GBMLGG and LGG. Conclusions: NK1R regulated tumor microenvironment by facilitating the inflammation and subsequent immune response in tumor and stromal cells. The immunological function of NK1R significantly showed in most types of tumors, involved in oncogenesis and prognosis. Our findings revealed the potential of NK1R to be a survival indicator and therapy target.