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Updated: Jul 4, 2025

A Streamlined Approach for Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics Using Selected Tissue Regions
Published on: April 18, 2025
Systematic pan-cancer analyses of the potential function of the Golgi scaffold protein PAQR3
Zhe-Nan Ling1,2,3,4,5, Lian-Lian Hong5, Jian Wu6,7,8,9
1Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou, 310003, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Progesterone and AdipoQ Receptor 3 (PAQR3) is a member of the AdipoQ receptor. Our previous studies have found that PAQR3 plays a role as a candidate inhibitor in cardiac adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, gastric cancer and colorectal cancer, but the systematic analysis of PAQR3 in tumors is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic and therapeutic value of PAQR3 in 31 tumors. Through the analysis of TCGA, UALCAN, GEO, GEPIA2, TIMER, Kaplan-Meier plotter, TISIDB and other databases, it was found that the expression level of PAQR3 changed significantly in different tumor types, and the expression level of Neuroblastoma was very high. And the level of Prostate adenocarcinoma is low. In addition, the expression level of PAQR3 in Cholangiocarcinoma, Esophageal carcinoma, Head and neck squamous carcinoma, Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Lung Adenocarcinoma and Lung squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. However, the expression level of PAQR3 in Breast Cancer, Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma, Kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma, Prostate Adenocarcinoma, Rectum Adenocarcinoma, Thyroid Cancer and Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma was lower than that in normal tissues. Subsequently, we explored the value of PAQR3 as a prognostic indicator of cancer. In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Lower-grade Glioma and Glioblastoma, Pediatric Low-grade Gliomas, Kidney Chromophobe, and Thyroid Cancer, PAQR3 expression was positively correlated with OS and DSS, while in Rectum Adenocarcinoma, PAQR3 expression was negatively correlated with OS. PAQR3 high expression group Lower-grade Glioma and Glioblastoma, Pediatric Low-grade Gliomas, Uveal Melanoma, Kidney Chromophobe and DFI were positively correlated. PAQR3 can be used as a risk factor for the prognosis of multiple tumors. Then, we discussed the correlation between PAQR3 and immunology, and found that PAQR3 has a wide range of mutations in various tumor types, the most common mutation type is missense mutation, and common mutation types also include amplification, depth deletion, splicing, truncation and structural variation. Among the tumor samples with PAQR3 alterations, mutation occurred in all tumor samples except prostate adenocarcinoma and adrenal cortical carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, brain low-grade glioma, and kidney clear cell carcinoma, while esophageal adenocarcinoma had the highest total alteration frequency. PAQR3 was strongly associated with CNV in 18 tumors, particularly in Ovarian cancer, Lung squamous cell carcinoma, and Adenoid cystic carcinoma. On the other hand, PAQR3 has a higher SNV frequency in Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma, Skin Cutaneous Melanoma and Lung Adenocarcinoma, among which Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma has the highest SNV frequency. These results showed that PAQR3 expression levels were significantly correlated with tumor mutation load, microsatellite instability, neoantigens, and purity. In summary, PAQR3 can affect the tumor microenvironment and has potential for chemotherapy. Finally, we investigated the role of PAQR3 in tumor resistance and found that the expression of PAQR3 affects the efficacy of multiple chemotherapy drugs. Based on these studies, we found that PAQR3 plays an important role in cancer and has potential in tumor diagnosis and prognosis.
Insights
Progesterone and AdipoQ Receptor 3 (PAQR3) shows varied expression across 31 tumors, impacting prognosis and therapeutic potential. This study highlights PAQR3
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Progesterone and AdipoQ Receptor 3 (PAQR3) is implicated as a potential inhibitor in several cancers.
- A comprehensive analysis of PAQR3's role across diverse tumor types was previously lacking.
- Understanding PAQR3's expression and prognostic value is crucial for cancer research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically investigate the prognostic and therapeutic significance of PAQR3 in 31 human tumors.
- To analyze PAQR3 expression patterns, mutation status, and correlation with tumor immunology and treatment response.
Main Methods:
- Utilized public databases including TCGA, UALCAN, GEO, GEPIA2, TIMER, Kaplan-Meier plotter, and TISIDB.
- Analyzed PAQR3 expression levels, copy number variations (CNV), single nucleotide variations (SNV), and mutation frequencies.
- Correlated PAQR3 alterations with overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), distant metastasis-free interval (DFI), tumor mutation load, and microsatellite instability.
Main Results:
- PAQR3 expression varied significantly across tumors; notably high in Neuroblastoma and low in Prostate Adenocarcinoma.
- Elevated PAQR3 levels were observed in Cholangiocarcinoma, Esophageal carcinoma, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Lung Adenocarcinoma, and Lung squamous cell carcinoma.
- PAQR3 alterations, including missense mutations and amplifications, were widespread, correlating with immune markers and affecting chemotherapy drug efficacy.
Conclusions:
- PAQR3 serves as a significant prognostic indicator across multiple tumor types, acting as a risk factor in some and a protective factor in others.
- PAQR3 influences the tumor microenvironment and demonstrates potential in predicting chemotherapy response and resistance.
- PAQR3 holds promise as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in oncology.

