GNG5 is a novel oncogene associated with poor prognosis in glioma patients

Abstract

Background: Although many biomarkers have been reported for detecting glioma, the prognosis for the disease remains poor, and therefore, new biomarkers need to be identified. GNG5, which is part of the G-protein family, has been associated with different malignant tumors, though the role of GNG5 in glioma has not been studied. Therefore, we aimed to identify the relationship between GNG5 expression and glioma prognosis and to identify a new biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas.Methods: We used datasets from databases including TCGA and GEO, and results from GEPIA, RT-qPCR, and HPA to determine the expression of GNG5 in glioma. Based on datasets obtained from the CGGA database, we identified the correlation between GNG5 expression and multiple molecular and clinical features as well as clinical prognosis using a variety of analytical methods. Co-expression analysis and GSEA were performed to detect GNG5-related genes in gliomas and possible signaling pathways involved. ESTIMATE, ssGSEA, and TIMER were used to detect the relationship between GNG5 and the immune microenvironment.Results: A total of 1826 glioma related datasets were used in our study, including sequencing data, microarray data, and RT-qPCR data. We found that GNG5 is highly expressed in gliomas, and its expression level is positively correlated with pathological grade, histological type, age, and tumor recurrence and negatively correlated with isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation, 1p/19 co-deletion, and chemotherapy. Moreover, GNG5 as an independent risk factor was negatively correlated with the overall survival time. GSEA analysis revealed the potential signaling pathways involved in GNG5 function in gliomas, such as ECM-receptor interaction and the toll-like receptor signaling pathway. The ssGSEA, ESTIMATE, and TIMER based analysis indicated a correlation between GNG5 expression and various immune cells in glioma, such as B cell, macrophage, and dendritic cells.Conclusions: Based on the large data platform and the use of different databases to corroborate results obtained using various datasets, our study reveals for the first time that GNG5, as an oncogene, is overexpressed in gliomas and can lead to poor prognosis of patients. Thus, GNG5 is a potential novel biomarker for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of gliomas.