IQGAP3在宫颈癌中的表达及其对患者预后和免疫浸润的影响OACSTPCD

Objective To investigate the expression of IQ motif-containing GTPase activating protein 3(IQGAP3)in cervical cancer and its correlation with prognosis,immune infiltration levels and biological functions.Methods The level of IQGAP3 mRNA in cer-vical cancer tissues and normal control tissues was analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis(GEPIA)database.The expression of IQGAP3 protein in cervical cancer tissues and normal control tissues was analyzed using immunohistochemical sections based on the Human Protein Atlas(HPA)database.The expression of IQGAP3 protein in cervical cancer tissue microarrays was detected by immunohistochemistry,and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted.RNAseq data of 306 cases of cervical cancer and corresponding clinical information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database.Differentially expressed genes associated with IQGAP3 were enriched and analyzed by gene ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analyses.Using the EPIC algorithm,the immune cell infiltration in cervical cancer tissues was analyzed and the expression of immune checkpoint-related genes in high and low IQGAP3 expression groups was examined.Results Compared to normal control tissues,both mRNA and protein levels of IQGAP3 were significantly upregulated in cervical cancer(P<0.05).Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis indicated that the overall survival and the progression-free survival of the patients with high IQGAP3 protein expres-sion were significantly reduced(P<0.05).Elevated IQGAP3 expression was notably correlated with lymph node metastasis,higher T stage,and recurrence.Enrichment analysis suggested that IQGAP3 might be involved in signaling pathways and biological processes such as gap junctions,ferroptosis,and the negative regulation of Hippo signaling pathway.Additionally,IQGAP3 expression was associated with CD4+T cells,macrophages,and NK cells.In IQGAP3 high expression group,the expressions of certain immune checkpoint-related genes(CTLA4,HAVCR2,LAG3)were significantly downregulated.Conclusion IQGAP3 is highly expressed in cervical cancer and correlated with prognosis and immune characteristics.