Procollagen C-protease enhancer protein is a prognostic factor for glioma and promotes glioma development by regulating multiple tumor-related pathways and immune microenvironment

Abstract

Objectives Glioma is a common type of brain tumor with high incidence and mortality rates. Procollagen C-protease enhancer protein (PCOLCE) has been shown to regulate tumor growth and metastasis in several cancers. However, the role of PCOLCE in glioma is unknown. This study aims to assess the association between PCOLCE and prognosis of glioma, and investigated the potential mechanisms. Methods The prognostic value of PCOLCE was determined using data from nine publicly available glioma cohorts. We also investigated the relationship between PCOLCE and glioma immune microenvironment and predicted response to immunotherapy based on the expression levels of PCOLCE. The potential roles of PCOLCE in glioma were also explored and validated in cell experiment. Results Survival analysis suggested that high-PCOLCE expression was associated with poor prognosis in glioma. Upregulation of PCOLCE enhanced an immune suppressive microenvironment in glioma by regulating immunocyte infiltration and Cancer-Immunity Cycle. Cox and ROC analysis revealed that PCOLCE was a prognostic factor for glioma and could be used to predict survival of the patients. Patients with low-PCOLCE expression were more likely to respond to Immunotherapy with ICI (immune checkpoint inhibitor) and survive longer. Enrichment analysis showed that PCOLCE was associated with multiple tumor-related pathways. Finally, we demonstrated that the knockdown of PCOLCE inhibited glioma development by regulating cell cycle and promoting apoptosis in in vitro experiments. Conclusion PCOLCE promotes glioma progression by regulating multiple tumor-related pathways and immune microenvironment and can be used as a prognostic factor for glioma.

Predictive value of procollagen c-protease enhancer protein on the prognosis of glioma patients

“…Additionally, our findings showed that high levels of PCOLCE expression may be a predictor of poor outcomes for LGG and GBM patients. The CGGA data also showed that all WHO-grade primary gliomas had a poor prognosis when PCOLCE was over-expressed, consistent with a most recent study [ 35 ]. It has illustrated that PCOLCE actively increases the production of BMP1.…”

Arylsulfatase D is a prognostic biomarker that promotes glioma cells progression through JAK2/STAT3 pathway and M2 macrophage infiltration

“…Previous research showed that macrophages were more likely to develop into M2 macrophages for the immunosuppressive microenvironment in glioma ( 13 ). Glioma cells can secrete various chemokines to recruit macrophages and regulate the M2 macrophage polarization ( 14 ). Hence, therapy against macrophage polarization and recruitment can be a promising treatment for glioma.…”