AUTHOR=Qiu Dongxu , Hu Jian , Hu Jiao , Yu Anze , Othmane Belaydi , He Tongchen , Ding Jian , Cheng Xu , Ren Wenbiao , Tan Xiyan , Yu Qiaoyan , Chen Jinbo , Zu Xiongbing 

TITLE=PMEPA1 Is a Prognostic Biomarker That Correlates With Cell Malignancy and the Tumor Microenvironment in Bladder Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.705086

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.705086

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Prostate transmembrane protein androgen induced 1 (<italic>PMEPA1</italic>) has been reported to promote cancer progression, but the potential role of <italic>PMEPA1</italic> in bladder cancer (BLCA) remains elusive. We assess the role of <italic>PMEPA1</italic> in BLCA, <italic>via</italic> a publicly available database and <italic>in vitro</italic> study. <italic>PMEPA1</italic> was identified from 107 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to have prognostic value. GO, KEGG, and GSEA analysis indicated that <italic>PMEPA1</italic> was involved in cancer progression and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Then bioinformatical analysis in TCGA, GEO, TIMER, and TISIDB show a positive correlation with the inflammation and infiltration levels of three tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TAMs, CAFs, and MDSCs) and immune/stromal scores in TME. Moreover, <italic>in vitro</italic> study revealed that <italic>PMEPA1</italic> promotes bladder cancer cell malignancy. Immunohistochemistry and survival analysis shed light on <italic>PMEPA1</italic> potential to be a novel biomarker in predicting tumor progression and prognosis. At last, we also analyzed the role of <italic>PMEPA1</italic> in predicting the molecular subtype and the response to several treatment options in BLCA. We found that <italic>PMEPA1</italic> may be a novel potential biomarker to predict the progression, prognosis, and molecular subtype of BLCA.</p>