SUV39H1 is a prognosis and immune microenvironment-related biomarker in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract

Background: The tumor microenvironment plays a crucial role in the oncogenesis and treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The H3K9me3-specific histone methyltransferase Suppressor of variegation 3-9 homolog 1 (SUV39H1) is a significant gene that promotes the progression of various malignancies. However, the specific expression of SUV39H1 in DLBCL remains unclear.

Methods: By retrieving data from GEPIA, UCSC XENA and TCGA public databases, we observed the high expression of SUV39H1 in DLBCL. Combined with an immunohistochemical validation assay, we analyzed our hospital's clinical characteristics and prognosis of 67 DLBCL patients. The results showed that high SUV39H1 expression was closely associated with age over 50 years (P = 0.014) and low albumin levels (P = 0.023) of patients. Furthermore, the experiments in vitro were deployed to evaluate the regulation of SUV39H1 on the DLBCL immune microenvironment.

Results: The results showed that high SUV39H1 expression was closely associated with age over 50 years (P = 0.014) and low albumin levels (P = 0.023) of patients. The prognostic analysis showed that the high SUV39H1 expression group had a lower disease-free survival (DFS) rate than the low SUV39H1 expression group (P < 0.05). We further discovered that SUV39H1 upregulated the expression of CD86⁺ and CD163⁺ tumor-associated macrophages by DLBCL patients' tissues and cell experiments in vitro (P < 0.05). And SUV39H1-associated T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines IL-6/CCL-2 were downregulated in DLBCL (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: In summary, SUV39H1 might be not only a potential target for treating DLBCL but also a clinical indicator for doctors to evaluate the trend of disease development.

Keywords: Biomarker; Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; Prognosis; SUV39H1; Tumor immunity.