Exploration of NPC2 as a Potential Biomarker for Immunotherapy Using RNA-seq and Protein Data - A New Hypothesis

Abstract

Introduction: NPC2 is well known as a player for cholesterol transport. However, the biological role of NPC2 in cancer development and therapy is far from clear.

Methods: Here, we explore the potential role of NPC2 in prognosis and immunotherapy across multiple cancer types by integrating RNA-seq data from TCGA and GTEx, protein data from CPTAC, and multiple web analysis databases.

Results: Expression depiction between tumour and normal tissues indicated that NPC2 is overexpressed in the majority of the most common cancer types, including glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer, two cancers mostly difficult to diagnose and treat.

Conclusion: Cancer stemness in glioblastoma is negatively associated with NPC2 level. NPC2 expression is positively correlated with immune cell infiltration and the expression of several immune checkpoints. IDH1 mutation in GBM is negatively correlated with NPC2 level, while a positive correlation has been found between TP53 mutation and NPC2 expression in pancreatic cancer. NPC2 is also correlated with levels of serum biomarkers used for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: NPC2; cholesterol metabolism; diagnosis; immunotherapy; prognosis; tumour.