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Immunological role and prognostic value of SPARCL1 in pan-cancer analysis
Kangwei He1,2, Changjiu Li2, Hui Yuan1,2
1The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Background: Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine-like 1 (SPARCL1) was a kind of extracellular matrix glycoprotein. SPARCL1 was strongly inhibited in most cancers. However, the potential functions of SPARCL1 in the pan-cancer cohort have not been widely studied. Methods: We evaluated the transcriptional level and the prognostic value of SPARCL1 in 33 types of cancer and revealed the relationship between genetic alterations of SPARCL1 and the tumor mutation burden. Meanwhile, we assessed the correlations between SPARCL1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes across cancers. Results: The transcriptional level of SPARCL1 was inhibited in most cancers. Although SPARCL1 was down-regulated in most cancers, SPARCL1 might play a protective or detrimental role in different cancers. We demonstrated that mutation count was elevated in the altered SPARCL1 group in several cancers. Additionally, we found a significant positive correlation between SPARCL1 and macrophage infiltration levels in most cancers. Especially, marker sets of M2 macrophages were strongly related to SPARCL1 in cholangiocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, rectum adenocarcinoma, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: Our study found that SPARCL1 might work as a biomarker for prognosis and immune infiltration in pan-cancer analysis.
Insights
Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine-like 1 (SPARCL1) is often inhibited in cancers. This study reveals SPARCL1
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine-like 1 (SPARCL1) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein.
- SPARCL1 expression is significantly downregulated across a majority of human cancers.
- Its functional role in a pan-cancer context remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression patterns and prognostic significance of SPARCL1 across 33 distinct cancer types.
- To examine the association between SPARCL1 genetic alterations and tumor mutation burden.
- To explore the relationship between SPARCL1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in a pan-cancer analysis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized transcriptomic data to assess SPARCL1 expression levels in 33 cancer types.
- Analyzed the correlation between SPARCL1 alterations and tumor mutation burden.
- Investigated the association between SPARCL1 expression and the infiltration of various immune cells, particularly macrophages.
Main Results:
- SPARCL1 expression is predominantly downregulated across most investigated cancers.
- Altered SPARCL1 levels correlate with increased mutation counts in several cancer types.
- A significant positive correlation exists between SPARCL1 expression and macrophage infiltration, especially M2 macrophages, in specific cancers like cholangiocarcinoma and colorectal adenocarcinomas.
Conclusions:
- SPARCL1 exhibits potential as a prognostic biomarker in cancer.
- SPARCL1 may serve as a valuable indicator of immune infiltration, particularly macrophage presence, in diverse cancer types.
- Further research into SPARCL1's role could inform cancer diagnostics and immunotherapies.
