Study on the expression, prognostic value, and molecular mechanisms of TIMP1 in glioma

TIMP1 exerts oncogenic effects in multiple malignant tumors, yet its specific biological functions and molecular mechanisms in glioma remain incompletely elucidated. This study systematically investigated the expression level, clinical prognostic significance and underlying functional mechanisms of TIMP1 in glioma. Pan-cancer analysis verified that TIMP1 is abnormally overexpressed across a wide range of tumor tissues, with particularly prominent upregulation observed in glioma. Its high expression is closely correlated with malignant clinicopathological phenotypes of glioma and serves as an effective indicator of poor overall survival for patients. In vitro functional experiments confirmed that elevated TIMP1 expression accelerates the proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that TIMP1 sustains the malignant progression of glioma by regulating multiple core extracellular matrix genes and activating extracellular matrix signaling pathways. Collectively, TIMP1 facilitates the malignant evolution of glioma via mediating extracellular matrix signaling cascades, and it holds great promise as a novel molecular biomarker for clinical prognostic evaluation and a potential therapeutic target for glioma.