AUTHOR=Weng Miaomiao , Xie Hui , Zheng Mingjie , Hou Xinwen , Wang Shui , Huang Yue 

TITLE=Identification of CD161 expression as a novel prognostic biomarker in breast cancer correlated with immune infiltration

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.996345

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2022.996345

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold><italic>CD161</italic> has been identified as a prognostic biomarker in many neoplasms, but its role in breast cancer (BC) has not been fully explained. We aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism and prognostic value of <italic>CD161</italic> in BC.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold><italic>CD161</italic> expression profile was extracted from TIMER, Oncomine, UALCAN databases, and verified by the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The prognostic value of <italic>CD161</italic> was assessed <italic>via</italic> GEPIA, Kaplan–Meier plotter and PrognoScan databases. The Cox regression and nomogram analyses were conducted to further validate the association between <italic>CD161</italic> expression and survival. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed to probe the tumor-associated annotations of <italic>CD161</italic>. CIBERSORT and ssGSEA were employed to investigate the correlation between <italic>CD161</italic> expression and immune cell infiltration in BC, and the result was verified by TIMER and TISIDB.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Multiple BC cohorts showed that <italic>CD161</italic> expression was decreased in BC, and a high <italic>CD161</italic> expression was associated with a preferable prognosis. Therefore, we identified the combined model including <italic>CD161</italic>, age and PR status to predict the survival (C index = 0.78) of BC patients. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that <italic>CD161</italic> and its co-expressed genes were closely related to several cancerous and immune signaling pathways, suggesting its involvement in immune response during cancer development. Moreover, immune infiltration analysis revealed that <italic>CD161</italic> expression was correlated with immune infiltration.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Collectively, our findings revealed that <italic>CD161</italic> may serve as a potential biomarker for favorable prognosis and a promising immune therapeutic target in BC.</p>