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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1507375
This article is part of the Research Topic Big Data and Precision Medicine: Diagnosis and Treatment, Drug Discovery, and Integration of Multiple Omics View all 3 articles

Pan-Cancer Analysis Shows That BCAP31 Is a Potential Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Biomarker for Multiple Cancer Types

Provisionally accepted
Yangyong Sun Yangyong Sun 1Zhi Li Zhi Li 2*Ying Xiao Ying Xiao 2*Yaqiang Pan Yaqiang Pan 1*Benbo LV Benbo LV 1,3*Xufeng Wang Xufeng Wang 1,3*Jianchao Liu Jianchao Liu 1*Zhiqiang Lin Zhiqiang Lin 4*
  • 1 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
  • 2 Department of Emergency, Nanjing Jiangning Hospital, Jiangsu,, Nanjing, China
  • 3 Cardiothoracic surgery, Jiangsu University Affiliated People's Hospital, Zhenjiang, China
  • 4 Department of otolaryngology, the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: B-cell receptor-associated protein 31 (BCAP31) is a transmembrane protein mainly located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), including ER-mitochondria-associated membranes. Evidence suggests BCAP31 may contribute to cancer progression, though its specific effects across cancer types are not fully understood. Methods: Data on BCAP31 expression in tumor and adjacent non-tumor samples were sourced from the CCLE and UCSC databases. We evaluated the association between BCAP31 expression and clinicopathological factors, finding high BCAP31 levels linked to poor prognosis via Cox proportional hazards models. Using TCGA data, we examined the relationship between BCAP31 mRNA expression and copy number variations (CNV). We also explored BCAP31’s involvement in tumor biology and immune pathways using MsigDB pathway scores and assessed its association with immune cell infiltration via TIMER2 and ImmuCellAI databases. Drug sensitivity in relation to BCAP31 expression was evaluated with GDSC2 data, focusing on responses to 198 medications. Additionally, we cultured KYSE-150 cells with siRNA-mediated BCAP31 knockdown, assessing its role via Western blotting, MTT assays, colony formation, Transwell migration, wound healing, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tumor and adjacent tissue samples. Results: BCAP31 was significantly overexpressed in several cancers and correlated with poor prognosis. Cox regression revealed that higher BCAP31 levels were linked to worse overall survival (OS) and progression-free interval (PFI). In most cancers, increased BCAP31 expression correlated with higher CNV and was associated with immune cell infiltration, immune-related genes, and pathways in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Drug sensitivity analysis identified six medications with positive correlations to BCAP31 expression, and BCAP31 influenced immunotherapy outcomes. Functional assays showed that BCAP31 knockdown in KYSE-150 cells inhibited migration, invasion, and proliferation. IHC confirmed elevated BCAP31 in tumor tissues versus adjacent normal tissues in esophageal, lung, and gastric cancers. Conclusion:BCAP31 may serve as a biomarker for cancer immunology, especially regarding immune cell infiltration, and as an indicator of poor prognosis, supporting its potential role in guiding targeted cancer therapies.

    Keywords: BCAP31, prognosis, biomarker, target therapy, Pan-cancer

    Received: 07 Oct 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sun, Li, Xiao, Pan, LV, Wang, Liu and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhi Li, Department of Emergency, Nanjing Jiangning Hospital, Jiangsu,, Nanjing, China
    Ying Xiao, Department of Emergency, Nanjing Jiangning Hospital, Jiangsu,, Nanjing, China
    Yaqiang Pan, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
    Benbo LV, Cardiothoracic surgery, Jiangsu University Affiliated People's Hospital, Zhenjiang, China
    Xufeng Wang, Cardiothoracic surgery, Jiangsu University Affiliated People's Hospital, Zhenjiang, China
    Jianchao Liu, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
    Zhiqiang Lin, Department of otolaryngology, the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.