TNIP1 Impacts Prognosis by Modulating the Immune Microenvironment in BRCA

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Genetics

Background:

• Breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) remains a significant global health challenge with suboptimal patient outcomes despite treatment advancements.
• TNIP1, a novel immune signaling pathway regulator, influences tumor progression, but its role in BRCA is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the expression levels of TNIP1 in BRCA tissues.
• To determine the prognostic value of TNIP1 in BRCA patients.
• To explore the association between TNIP1 expression and the BRCA tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune cell infiltration.

Main Methods:

• Bioinformatic analysis of TCGA, GEO, Sangerbox, and Ualcan databases for TNIP1 expression and prognostic significance.
• Validation using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.
• In-depth analysis of TME components, immune cell infiltration, and immune checkpoint markers using various computational algorithms (e.g., EPIC, TIMER, MCPCounter) and single-cell datasets (TISCH).

Main Results:

• TNIP1 was found to be underexpressed in BRCA tissues compared to normal tissues.
• Low TNIP1 expression correlated with poor prognosis in BRCA patients.
• TNIP1 expression positively correlated with TME scores (StromalScore, ImmuneScore, ESTIMATEScore) and increased infiltration of various immune cells.
• TNIP1 expression was associated with immune checkpoint markers and showed higher levels in immune cells within the BRCA TME.
• TNIP1 expression correlated positively with inflammation and differentiation, and negatively with stemness and invasion in BRCA.

Conclusions:

• TNIP1 is underexpressed in BRCA and serves as a potential marker for poor prognosis.
• TNIP1 plays a significant role in modulating the immune landscape of the BRCA tumor microenvironment.
• TNIP1 represents a promising therapeutic target for improving outcomes in breast invasive carcinoma.