Background: The correlation of the expression of ankyrin repeat domain (ANKRD) family members with renal cell carcinoma prognosis was investigated.
Methods: The GEPIA2, GEO2R, UALCAN, GDC, OncoLnc, TIMER, PanglaoDB, CancerSEA, and Tabula Muris databases were used. Twelve ANKRD family members were identified as having overexpressed renal cell carcinoma samples. The ANKRD13D was identified as a renal cell carcinoma-specific target by cross-referencing the multiple survival databases. To clarify the role of ANKRD13D, the expression of NAKRD13D was analyzed at the single-cell level.
Results: ANKRD13D was mainly expressed in immune cells and positively correlated with Treg cell infiltration. The expression of ANKRD13D was also positively correlated with PDCD1, CTLA4, LAG3, TNFSF14, and ISG20. The overexpression of ANKRD13D in Treg was confirmed using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The structure of ANKRD13D was predicted using AlphaFold.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we identified ANKRD13D as a key immune regulator, and targeting ANKRD13D with immune checkpoints blockade may be a promoting strategy for renal cell carcinoma immunotherapy.
Keywords: ANKRD13D; UIM; immune checkpoint; renal cell carcinomas; treg.