Exploring the Role of Thioredoxin system in Cancer Immunotherapy

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• The thioredoxin (Trx) system is vital for cellular redox balance and influences critical physiological processes like tumor growth and immune responses.
• Understanding the Trx system's role in tumor immunity is essential for developing novel cancer therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively analyze the thioredoxin (Trx) system's expression, distribution, and function in the context of tumor immunity.
• To investigate the correlation between Trx system expression and tumor progression, clinical prognosis, and immunotherapy response across various cancer types.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) databases for protein expression analysis.
• Employed GTEx and TCGA datasets for correlation analysis with tumor progression and survival outcomes.
• Performed Western blotting, MTT assays, Kaplan-Meier analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses, and utilized TIDE and TISMO databases for immunotherapy response prediction.

Main Results:

• Abnormal expression of the Trx system was observed in cancer cells, and its inhibition significantly reduced tumor cell growth.
• The Trx system demonstrated consistent aberrant expression across pan-cancer types, closely correlating with clinical prognosis, immune infiltration, and metabolism.
• Trx system expression was significantly associated with patient survival and predicted response to immunotherapy.

Conclusions:

• The thioredoxin (Trx) system plays a critical role in tumor growth and immune regulation.
• Aberrant Trx system expression serves as a significant prognostic biomarker in pan-cancer.
• The Trx system is a valuable predictor of both patient survival and immunotherapy efficacy.