Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Digital Spatial Profiling for Characterization of the Microenvironment in Adult-Type Diffusely Infiltrating Glioma
Published on: September 13, 2022
Procollagen C-protease enhancer protein is a prognostic factor for glioma and promotes glioma development by
Zijun Zhao1, Jiahui Zhao2, Zairan Wang1
1Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
Objectives:
Glioma is a common type of brain tumor with high incidence and mortality rates. Procollagen C-protease enhancer protein (PCOLCE) has been shown to regulate tumor growth and metastasis in several cancers. However, the role of PCOLCE in glioma is unknown. This study aims to assess the association between PCOLCE and prognosis of glioma, and investigated the potential mechanisms.
Methods:
The prognostic value of PCOLCE was determined using data from nine publicly available glioma cohorts. We also investigated the relationship between PCOLCE and glioma immune microenvironment and predicted response to immunotherapy based on the expression levels of PCOLCE. The potential roles of PCOLCE in glioma were also explored and validated in cell experiment.
Results:
Survival analysis suggested that high-PCOLCE expression was associated with poor prognosis in glioma. Upregulation of PCOLCE enhanced an immune suppressive microenvironment in glioma by regulating immunocyte infiltration and Cancer-Immunity Cycle. Cox and ROC analysis revealed that PCOLCE was a prognostic factor for glioma and could be used to predict survival of the patients. Patients with low-PCOLCE expression were more likely to respond to Immunotherapy with ICI (immune checkpoint inhibitor) and survive longer. Enrichment analysis showed that PCOLCE was associated with multiple tumor-related pathways. Finally, we demonstrated that the knockdown of PCOLCE inhibited glioma development by regulating cell cycle and promoting apoptosis in in vitro experiments.
Conclusion:
PCOLCE promotes glioma progression by regulating multiple tumor-related pathways and immune microenvironment and can be used as a prognostic factor for glioma.
Related Concept Videos
The Tumor Microenvironment
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Matrix Proteoglycans and Glycoproteins
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...

