Pan-cancer analysis reveals potential of FAM110A as a prognostic and immunological biomarker in human cancer

Hongguang Zhong; Qianqian Shi; Qin Wen; Jingyi Chen; Xuan Li; Ruiwen Ruan; Shaocheng Zeng; Xiaofeng Dai; Jianping Xiong; Li Li; Wan Lei; Jun Deng

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1058627

Pan-cancer analysis reveals potential of FAM110A as a prognostic and immunological biomarker in human cancer

Front Immunol. 2023 Feb 27:14:1058627. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1058627. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hongguang Zhong¹, Qianqian Shi¹, Qin Wen¹, Jingyi Chen¹, Xuan Li¹, Ruiwen Ruan¹, Shaocheng Zeng¹, Xiaofeng Dai¹, Jianping Xiong^{1

2}, Li Li¹, Wan Lei³, Jun Deng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
² Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Individual Cancer Therapy, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
³ Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.

Abstract

Background: Despite great success, immunotherapy still faces many challenges in practical applications. It was previously found that family with sequence similarity 110 member A (FAM110A) participate in the regulation of the cell cycle and plays an oncogenic role in pancreatic cancer. However, the prognostic value of FAM110A in pan-cancer and its involvement in immune response remain unclear.

Methods: The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database was used to detect the expression of FAM110A in human normal tissues, the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and TIMER 2.0 databases were used to explore the association of FAM110A expression with immune checkpoint genes and immune infiltration, and the Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA) database was used to explore the correlation between FAM110A expression and copy number variations (CNV) and methylation. The LinkedOmics database was used for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Statistical analysis and visualization of data from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) or the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases were performed using the R software (version 3.6.3). Clinical samples were validated using immunohistochemistry.

Results: FAM110A expression was elevated in most tumor tissues compared with that in normal tissues. CNV and methylation were associated with abnormal FAM110A mRNA expression in tumor tissues. FAM110A affected prognosis and was associated with the expression of multiple immune checkpoint genes and abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells across multiple types of cancer, especially in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). FAM110A-related genes were involved in multiple immune-related processes in LIHC.

Conclusion: FAM110A participates in regulating the immune infiltration and affecting the prognosis of patients in multiple cancers, especially in LIHC. FAM110A may serve as a prognostic and immunological biomarker for human cancer.

Keywords: FAM110A; bioinformatics; immune infiltration; pan-cancer analysis; prognosis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*
DNA Copy Number Variations
Databases, Protein
Humans
Liver Neoplasms*
Prognosis

Substances

Biomarkers
FAM110A protein, human

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Jiangxi Provincial Young Talents projects (grant number 20204BCJ23016), the Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province (grant number 20202BCD42011), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (grant number 20192ACB20028), the Health and Family Planning Commission of Jiangxi Province (grant number 20194009), and the Education Department of Jiangxi Province (grant number GJJ190116).