COL8A1 is a prognostic-related biomarker and correlated with immune infiltration in gastric cancer

Abstract

Background

Gastric cancer (GC) ranks as the fifth most prevalent malignancy and stands as the third principal contributor to cancer-related fatalities globally. COL8A1 (collagen type VIII, alpha-1) emerges as a pivotal regulator of tumor progression, but whether COL8A1 drives immune infiltration in GC remains elusive. The aim of our investigation is to elucidate the correlation between COL8A1 and the prognosis as well as immune infiltration in gastric cancer.

Methods

The GSE79973 and UALCAN databases were used for assessing the expression of COL8A1. Clinical data was obtained from the TCGA database to analyze the association between the expression of COL8A1 and clinicopathologic features of GC patients. Survival data of GC patients were acquired from the Kaplan-Meier Plotter database. Gene set enrichment analysis was conducted to characterize biological pathways of COL8A1. Immune infiltration analysis was conducted using the CIBERSORT method based on the TCGA database and online analysis within the TIMER2.0 database.

Results

We unveiled a noteworthy upregulation of COL8A1 expression across multiple cancer types, particularly in GC. Subsequent analysis underscored a positive linkage between heightened COL8A1 expression and an unfavorable clinical progression in GC patients. Survival analysis indicated that GC patients with elevated COL8A1 expression exhibited a poorer prognosis. Gene enrichment analysis hinted that COL8A1 might participate in physiological processes such as anatomical structure morphogenesis, cell adhesion, focal adhesion, and ECM-receptor interaction et al. in GC. Eventually, we discerned a established association between COL8A1 expression and immune cell infiltration in GC.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that COL8A1 is a key factor which governs immune cell recruitment to GC, representing a valuable prognostic biomarker in GC patients and potentially playing a crucial role in modulating immune cell infiltration.