Expression and survival analysis of the STAT gene family in diffuse gliomas using integrated bioinformatics

Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) belongs to the acyltransferase family and participates in cell viability response to different cell stimuli and pathogens. By mediating the expression of a variety of genes, the STAT family plays a prominent part in mammal immunity, proliferation and differentiation. Dysregulations and mutations of STAT factors have been revealed in many kinds of cancers including diffuse gliomas; however, expression characteristic and prognostic value of STAT in diffuse gliomas remain to be elucidated. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptional and survival data of gliomas using ONCOMINE, cBioPortal, GEPIA, COXPRESDB and WEBGESTALTR databases. The results demonstrated that the transcriptional level of STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5A in gliomas was significantly higher than that in normal tissue. Furthermore, dysregulations of STAT1, STAT3, STAT4, STAT5B and STAT6 were referred to as the potential biomarkers to sub-group analysis of gliomas. Survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier Plotter suggested that glioma patients with high expression of STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5B tended to have poor survival. These data revealed that the STAT family may be an essential aspect of glioma progression and prognosis.