CD93 overexpresses in liver hepatocellular carcinoma and represents a potential immunotherapy target

Qianwei Jiang; Jing Kuai; Zhongyi Jiang; Weitao Que; Pusen Wang; Wenxin Huang; Wei Ding; Lin Zhong

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1158360

CD93 overexpresses in liver hepatocellular carcinoma and represents a potential immunotherapy target

Front Immunol. 2023 Jul 7:14:1158360. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1158360. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qianwei Jiang¹, Jing Kuai², Zhongyi Jiang¹, Weitao Que¹, Pusen Wang¹, Wenxin Huang¹, Wei Ding², Lin Zhong¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Weifang People's Hospital, Shandong, Weifang, Shandong, China.

Abstract

Background: Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is one of the malignant tumors with high incidence as well as high death, which is ranked as the sixth most common tumor and the third highest mortality worldwide. CD93, a transmembrane protein, has been widely reported to play an important role in different types of diseases, including many types of cancer by mainly functioning in extracellular matrix formation and vascular maturation. However, there are few researches focusing on the role and potential function of CD93 in LIHC.

Methods: In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the relationship between CD93 and LIHC. We not only discovered transcriptional expression of CD93 in LIHC by using the TIMER, GEPIA and UALCAN database, but also performed WB and IHC to verify the protein expression of CD93 in LIHC. Meantime, Kaplan-Meier Plotter Database Analysis were used to assess the prognosis of CD93 in LIHC. After knowing close correlation between CD93 expression and LIHC, there were STRING, GeneMania and GO and KEGG enrichment analyses to find how CD93 functions in LIHC. We further applied CIBERSORT Algorithm to explore the correlation between CD93 and immune cells and evaluate prognostic value of CD93 based on them in LIHC patients.

Results: The transcriptional and protein expression of CD93 were both obviously increased in LIHC by above methods. There was also a significant and close correlation between the expression of CD93 and the prognosis of LIHC patients by using Kaplan-Meier Analysis, which showed that LIHC patients with elevated expression of CD93 were associated with a predicted poor prognosis. We found that the functions of CD93 in different cancers are mainly related to Insulin like growth factor binding protein 7 Gene (IGFBP7)/CD93 pathway via STRING, GeneMania and functional enrichment analyses. Further, our data obtained from CIBERSORT Algorithm suggested CD93 was also associated with the immune response. There is a close positive correlation between CD93 expression and the infiltration levels of all six types of immune cells (B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells). Importantly, CD93 can affect the prognosis of patients with LIHC partially due to immune infiltration.

Conclusion: Our results demonstrated CD93 may be a candidate predictor of clinical prognosis and immunotherapy response in LIHC.

Keywords: CD93; biomarker; immune infiltration; immunotherapy target; liver hepatocellular carcinoma.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / genetics
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / therapy
Humans
Immunotherapy
Liver Neoplasms* / genetics
Liver Neoplasms* / therapy

Grants and funding

This study was partly supported by research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82070672), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (20ZR1445500, 20S31904800), and Three‐year Action Plan for Clinical Skills and Clinical Innovation in Shanghai‐level Hospitals (SHDC2020CR3035B).