CD52 Is a Prognostic Biomarker and Associated With Tumor Microenvironment in Breast Cancer.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Genetics

Background:

• The tumor microenvironment (TME) is critical for breast cancer (BC) development and metastasis.
• Understanding immune and matrix components within the TME is essential for BC research.
• Further investigation into tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) and their roles in BC is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze immune and matrix components in BC patients using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data.
• To identify key genes influencing BC prognosis and TME composition.
• To explore the role of CD52 in BC progression and its correlation with immune cells.

Main Methods:

• Utilized TCGA data to quantify TICs and immune/matrix components in BC.
• Performed Cox regression and constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network for differentially expressed genes (DEGs).
• Conducted Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to identify enriched pathways based on CD52 expression levels.

Main Results:

• Identified CD52 as a crucial gene, significantly upregulated and affecting BC patient prognosis.
• Found CD52 high-expression associated with immune-related pathways, while low-expression linked to metabolic pathways.
• Observed a positive correlation between CD52 expression and CD8+ T cells, activated memory CD4+ T cells, macrophage M1, and Gamma Delta T cells.

Conclusions:

• CD52 plays a significant role in maintaining an immune-dominant TME in breast cancer.
• CD52 may serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker for BC patients.
• CD52 presents a potential new therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment.