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Comprehensive analysis of the novel omicron receptor AXL in cancers

Wei-Na Zhang1, Xue-Ping Li2,3, Peng-Fei Wang1

  • 1Department of Hematology, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, 510623, China.

Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
|July 5, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Anexelekto (AXL) is a transmembrane protein implicated in cancer and COVID-19. This study found AXL expression correlates with cancer prognosis and immune infiltration, suggesting AXL as a potential therapeutic target for cancer and viral vaccines.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • The SARS-CoV-2 virus constantly mutates, leading to global spread of variants like Omicron.
  • Anexelekto (AXL), a transmembrane protein, influences cell growth, migration, and metastasis, and is implicated in cancer and COVID-19.
  • AXL is highly expressed in respiratory system cells, unlike ACE2.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of AXL expression in various cancer types.
  • To explore the correlation between AXL expression, cancer prognosis, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI).
  • To analyze the relationship between AXL expression and immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment.

Main Methods:

  • Verification of AXL expression in cancerous and normal tissues.
  • Correlation analysis of AXL expression with cancer prognosis, TMB, and MSI.
  • Immune infiltration analysis in cancer patients, focusing on specific cancer types (BLCA, BRCA, CESC).

Main Results:

  • AXL expression was strongly correlated with cancer prognosis, TMB, and MSI across most tumor types.
  • A significant link was observed between AXL expression and immune scores in cancer patients, particularly in BLCA, BRCA, and CESC.
  • Immune cells such as NK-cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and myeloid dendritic cells showed high AXL expression within the tumor microenvironment.

Conclusions:

  • AXL expression is a significant prognostic biomarker in cancer.
  • AXL plays a crucial role in the tumor immune microenvironment.
  • AXL-related tumor neoantigens present potential targets for developing novel cancer and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
Keywords:
ACC, adrenocortical carcinomaACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2AXLAXL, anexelektoBLCA, bladder urothelial carcinomaBRCA, breast invasive carcinomaCHOL, cholangiocarcinomaCOAD, colon adenocarcinomaCOVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019CancerDFI, disease-free intervalDLBC, lymphoid neoplasm diffuse large b-cell lymphomaESCA, esophageal carcinomaGBM, glioblastoma multiformeHNSC, head and neck squamous cell carcinomaImmune infiltrationKICH, kidney chromophobeKIRC, kidney renal clear cell carcinomaKIRP, kidney renal papillary cell carcinomaLAML, acute myeloid leukemiaLGG, brain lower grade gliomaLIHC, liver hepatocellular carcinomaLUAD, lung adenocarcinomaLUSC, lung squamous cell carcinomaMESO, mesotheliomaMSI, microsatellite instabilityNeoantigensOS, overall survivalOV, ovarian serous cystadenocarcinomaOmicronPAAD, pancreatic adenocarcinomaPCPG, pheochromocytoma and paragangliomaPFI, progression-free interval, disease-specific survivalPRAD, prostate adenocarcinomaSARC, sarcomaSARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2SKCM, skin cutaneous melanomaSTAD, stomach adenocarcinomaTGCT, testicular germ cell tumorsTHCA, thyroid carcinomaTIMER, tumor immune estimation resourceTMB, tumor mutation burdenUCEC, uterine corpus endometrial carcinomaUMAP, uniform manifold approximation and projection for dimension reductionUVM, uveal melanomaVaccines

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