Aim

BicC family RNA-binding protein 1 (BICC1) codes an RNA-binding protein that regulates gene expression and modulates cell proliferation and apoptosis. We aim at investigating the role of BICC1 in gastric carcinogenesis.

Methods

BICC1 mRNA expression in gastric cancer (GC) was examined using the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Correlations between BICC1 expression and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. The Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and Kaplan–Meier plotter databases were used to examine the clinical prognostic significance of BICC1 in GC. Signaling pathways related to BICC1 expression were identified by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).

TIMER and CIBERSORT were used to analyze the correlations among BICC1, BICC1-coexpressed genes and tumor-infiltrating immune cells.

Results

BICC1 was highly expressed in GC and significantly correlated with grade (P = 0.002), TNM stage (P = 0.033), invasion depth (P = 0.001) and vital status (P = 0.009) of GC patients. High BICC1 expression correlated with poor overall survival. The GSEA results showed that cell adhesion-, tumor- and immune- related pathways were significantly enriched in samples with high BICC1 expression. BICC1 and its coexpressed genes were positively related to tumor-infiltrating immune cells and were strongly correlated with tumor-infiltrating macrophages (all r ≥ 0.582, P < 0.0001). The CIBERSORT database revealed that BICC1 correlated with M2 macrophages (P < 0.0001), regulatory T cells (P < 0.0001), resting mast cells (P < 0.0001), activated memory CD4+ T cells (P = 0.002), resting NK cells (P = 0.002), activated dendritic cells (P = 0.002), and follicular helper T cells (P = 0.016). The results from TIMER database confirmed that BICC1 is closely associated with the markers of M2 macrophages and tumor-associated macrophages (all r ≥ 0.5, P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

BICC1 may be a potential prognostic biomarker in GC and correlates with immune infiltrates.

中文翻译：

---

BICC1是胃癌中与免疫浸润相关的新型预后生物标志物。

目标

BicC家族RNA结合蛋白1（BICC1）编码一种RNA结合蛋白，可调节基因表达并调节细胞增殖和凋亡。我们旨在研究BICC1在胃癌发生中的作用。

方法

使用肿瘤免疫估计资源（TIMER），癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）和基因表达综合（GEO）数据库检查了胃癌（GC）中BICC1 mRNA的表达。分析了BICC1表达与临床病理参数之间的相关性。基因表达谱交互式分析（GEPIA）和Kaplan–Meier绘图仪数据库用于检查BICC1在GC中的临床预后意义。通过基因组富集分析（GSEA）鉴定了与BICC1表达有关的信号通路。

TIMER和CIBERSORT用于分析BICC1，BICC1共表达的基因与肿瘤浸润免疫细胞之间的相关性。

结果

BICC1在GC中高表达，并与GC患者的等级（P  = 0.002），TNM分期（P  = 0.033），浸润深度（P  = 0.001）和生命状态（P  = 0.009）密切相关。BICC1高表达与较差的总体生存率相关。GSEA结果表明，BICC1高表达的样品中细胞粘附，肿瘤和免疫相关的途径显着丰富。BICC1及其共表达基因与肿瘤浸润免疫细胞呈正相关，并且与肿瘤浸润巨噬细胞密切相关（所有r≥0.582，P  <0.0001）。CIBERSORT数据库显示BICC1与M2巨噬细胞（P  <0.0001），调节性T细胞（P  <0.0001），静息肥大细胞（P  <0.0001），活化记忆CD4 + T细胞（P  = 0.002），静息NK细胞（P  = 0.002），活化树突状细胞（P  = 0.002）和滤泡辅助性T细胞（P  = 0.016）。TIMER数据库的结果证实，BICC1与M2巨噬细胞和肿瘤相关巨噬细胞的标记密切相关（所有r≥0.5，P  <0.0001）。

结论

BICC1可能是GC中潜在的预后生物标志物，并与免疫浸润相关。