羧酸酯酶4A在鼻咽癌中的表达及其预后和免疫浸润分析

Expression of carboxylesterase 4A in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its prognosis and immune infiltration analysis

目的:探索羧酸酯酶4A(CES4A)在鼻咽癌(NPC)中的异常表达及其与患者预后及其免疫浸润的潜在关联。方法:采用实时荧光定量PCR(RT-qPCR)和免疫组织化学染色法检测CES4A在NPC组织中的mRNA和蛋白表达水平,并分析CES4A表达水平与患者临床病理特征、生存时间的关系。利用R语言开展GO、KEGG及免疫相关性分析。结果:与正常鼻咽组织比较,NPC中CES4A mRNA及蛋白表达水平显著降低,但与NPC的临床病理特征参数无显著关联。基于GEO数据集、RT-qPCR、免疫组织化学染色法数据绘制受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线,曲线下面积(AUC)分别为0.850(P<0.05)、0.6654(P=0.0037)、0.8098(P=0.0019)。低表达CES4A的NPC患者预后较差(P<0.001),CES4A是NPC患者的独立预后因素(P=0.00436,HR=0.168,95%CI:0.0492~0.5730)。CES4A与B细胞的肿瘤浸润呈正相关关系。结论:CES4A在NPC中的表达下调,可能为NPC诊断及患者不良预后的可靠分子标志物,且其与B细胞的肿瘤浸润减少有关,可能是NPC潜在的治疗靶点。

Objective:To investigate the aberrant expression of carboxylesterase 4A(CES4A)in nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)and its potential association with prognosis of patients and immune infiltration.Methods:Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)and immunohistochemical staining were utilized to assess the mRNA and protein expression levels of CES4A in NPC tissues.The relationship between CES4A expression levels and clinical pathological characteristics as well as survival time of patients was analyzed.GO,KEGG,and immune correlation analyses were conducted using R language.Results:Compared with normal nasopharyngeal tissues,CES4A mRNA and protein expression levels in NPC were significantly decreased,but there was no significant correlation with clinical pathological characteristics of NPC.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted based on the GEO dataset,RT-qPCR and immunohistochemical staining data,and the area under the curve(AUC)was 0.850(P<0.05),0.6654(P=0.0037)and 0.8098(P=0.0019),respectively.Patients with low CES4A expression exhibited poor prognosis(P<0.001),with CES4A identified as an independent prognostic factor for NPC patients(P=0.00436,HR=0.168,95%CI:=0.0492-0.5730).CES4A was positively correlated with tumor infiltration of B cells.Conclusion:Down-regulation of CES4A expression in NPC may serve as a reliable molecular marker for the diagnosis and poor prognosis in NPC patients.Additionally,its association with the reduced tumor infiltration of B cells suggests that CES4A can be a potential therapeutic target for NPC.