Pan-cancer analysis of the LOX family reveals that LOX affects tumor prognosis by affecting immune infiltration

Abstract

Background: The LOX (lysyl oxidase) gene family encodes for a group of copper-dependent enzymes that play a crucial role in the cross-linking of collagen and elastin fibers in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Dysregulation of LOX gene expression has been implicated in various pathological conditions, including cancer. Objectives: The goal of this article is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the LOX family's role in pan-cancer multiplexes. Material and methods: We utilized pan-cancer multi-omics sequencing data from TCGA to investigate the relationship between LOX family genes and tumors at four different levels: mutation, copy number variation, methylation, and gene expression. In addition, we also examined the relationship between LOX family genes and tumors at the cell line level using tumor cell line sequencing data from CCLE. Results: Our findings revealed that LOXL2 had the highest mutation frequency in tumors, while all four LOX family genes experienced some degree of copy number variation in diverse tumors. We observed that LOX, LOXL1-3 were predominantly highly expressed in tumors including LUAD. The expression trends of LOX and LOXL1-3 were consistent across tumor cell lines, but differed somewhat from LOXL4. Utilizing 25 LOX family-related genes, we constructed a LOX family prognostic model that performed well in predicting the prognosis of lung cancer. Conclusions: Through pan-cancer analysis, we gain further knowledge of the role of LOX family genes in different tumors, offering a novel pathway for future research into the relationship between LOX family genes and tumors.