AUTHOR=Li Yue , Li Fan , Bai Xiaoyu , Li Yanlei , Ni Chunsheng , Zhao Xiulan , Zhang Danfang 

TITLE=ITGA3 Is Associated With Immune Cell Infiltration and Serves as a Favorable Prognostic Biomarker for Breast Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.658547

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.658547

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p><italic>ITGA3</italic> is a member of the integrin family, a cell surface adhesion molecule that can interact with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The purpose of this study was to explore the significance of <italic>ITGA3</italic> expression in the prognosis and clinical diagnosis of breast cancer patients.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Oncomine, the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and UALCAN were used to analyze the expression of <italic>ITGA3</italic> in various cancers. PrognoScan, GEPIA, Kaplan–Meier plotter and Easysurv were utilized to analyze the prognosis of <italic>ITGA3</italic> in certain cancers. Based on TCGA data, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of <italic>ITGA3</italic> expression. cBio-Portal and MethSurv were used to evaluate the genomic mechanism. LinkedOmics, NetworkAnalyst and Metascape were used to build the signaling network. TIMER is a web server for comprehensive analysis of tumor infiltrating immune cells and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The expression of <italic>ITGA3</italic> in normal breast tissues was greater than that in breast cancer tissues at both the mRNA and protein levels. High expression of <italic>ITGA3</italic> was associated with better prognosis of breast cancer patients. ROC analysis indicated that <italic>ITGA3</italic> had significant diagnostic value. Genomic analysis revealed that promoter methylation of <italic>ITGA3</italic> leads to transcriptional silencing, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying <italic>ITGA3</italic> downregulation in BRCA. Immune infiltration analysis showed that <italic>ITGA3</italic> may be involved in the recruitment of immune cells.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>This study identified <italic>ITGA3</italic> as a novel biomarker to estimate the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. In addition, <italic>ITGA3</italic> is involved in ECM regulation and immune cell infiltration.</p></sec>