PLEK2 在泛癌中的表达及其作为肿瘤标志物的潜力

PLEK2 as a promising pan-cancer biomarker: insights from its expression profile

摘要

目的 基于公共生物数据库, 采用生物信息学方法系统分析 PLEK2 基因在泛癌种中的表达特征及其临床意义。 方法 从 TCGA 数据库提取相关数据集, 并联合 GTEx、STRING 数据库作为补充来源, 利用 GEPIA2 与 UALCAN 平台分析 PLEK2 基因在人体各器官中的分布情况, 比较其在多种肿瘤组织与对应癌旁正常组织中的表达差异, 评估其表达水平与患者预后的关系, 并探讨其与泛癌种患者临床特征之间的相关性。 进一步采用 TIMER 2.0 数据库分析 PLEK2 表达与肿瘤免疫微环境中免疫细胞浸润水平的关系, 并通过 LinkedOmics 数据库筛选与 PLEK2 表达正相关的基因。 结果 与正常组织相比, PLEK2 在多种肿瘤组织中表达显著上调 (P<0.05)。 生存分析显示, 在多个癌种中, PLEK2 高表达患者 5 年生存率显著低于低表达患者。 免疫浸润分析表明, PLEK2 表达与 CD8⁺ T 细胞浸润水平相关。 蛋白质蛋白质相互作用网络显示, PLEK2 与 10 种蛋白质存在相互作用。 结论 PLEK2 参与多种肿瘤的发生发展及免疫微环境调节, 其高表达提示患者预后不良, 有望作为泛癌种潜在生物标志物用于早期筛查与临床监测。

Abstract

Objective To systematically analyze the expression characteristics and clinical significance of the PLEK2 gene in pan-cancer based on public biological databases using bioinformatics methods. Methods Datasets were extracted from the TCGA database, supplemented by the GTEx and STRING databases. The GEPIA2 and UALCAN platforms were used to analyze the distribution of the PLEK2 gene across human organs, compare its expression differences between various tumor tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues, evaluate the relationship between its expression level and patient prognosis, and explore its correlation with clinical features in pan-cancer patients. Furthermore, the TIMER 2.0 database was employed to analyze the relationship between PLEK2 expression and immune cell infiltration levels in the tumor immune microenvironment, and the LinkedOmics database was used to screen genes positively correlated with PLEK2 expression. Results Compared with normal tissues, PLEK2 expression was significantly upregulated in multiple tumor tissues (P<0.05). Survival analysis showed that in several cancer types, patients with high PLEK2 expression had a significantly lower 5-year survival rate than those with low PLEK2 expression. Immune infiltration analysis indicated that PLEK2 expression was correlated with CD8⁺ T cell infiltration levels. Protein-protein interaction network analysis revealed that PLEK2 interacted with 10 proteins. Conclusion PLEK2 is involved in the development and progression of multiple tumors and the regulation of the immune microenvironment. Its high expression suggests poor patient prognosis, indicating its potential as a pan-cancer biomarker for early screening and clinical monitoring.

关键词

PLEK2 / 肿瘤 / 生信分析 / 数据库 / 泛癌种分析 / 生存预后 / 早期筛查 / 临床意义

Key words

PLEK2 / tumor / bioinformatics analysis / database / pan-cancer analysis / survival prognosis / early screening / clinical significance

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基金资助

国家自然科学基金(82173256)

国家自然科学基金(82503579)

陕西省重点研发计划项目(2024SF-GJHX-04)

肿瘤生物学国家重点实验室(第四军医大学)自主课题(CBSKL2022ZZ55)