TSHZ3 is A Prognostic Biomarker with Immune Infiltration in Stomach Adenocarcinoma and Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma
Abstract Background: This study aimed to investigate the expressions of Teashirt zinc finger homeobox 3 (TSHZ3) in different cancer types and identify the cancers of which prognosis can be predicted by TSHZ3 expression. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the correlations between tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) and TSHZ3 expression in these cancers.Methods: TSHZ3 expression was analyzed by the Oncomine database and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). We examined the influence of TSHZ3 on the clinical prognosis with Kaplan-Meier plotter and TIMER (Tumor Immune Estimation Resource). The correlations between tumor immune infiltrates and TSHZ3 expressions were investigated with TIMER and validated by GEPIA.Results: TSHZ3 expressions were significantly higher in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) and bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) when compared to normal tissues. Survival analysis results showed that high TSHZ3 expression was correlated with poor overall survival (OS) in STAD and BLCA. The infiltrations of pro-tumorigenic TIICs (M2 macrophages, monocytes, B cells and pDCs) were positively correlated with TSHZ3 expression in STAD and BLCA. Besides, the infiltration of other pro-tumorigenic TIICs (tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), Th2 cells and Tregs) and expression of T cell exhaustion markers (PD-1 and TIM-3) were positively correlated with TSHZ3 expression in STAD.Conclusions: TSHZ3 expression was up-regulated in STAD and BLCA. High TSHZ3 expression predicted poor prognosis of patients with STAD or BLCA. In addition, TSHZ3 expression potentially contributes to the increased infiltrations of pro-tumorigenic TIICs. TSHZ3 can be used as a prognostic biomarker for predicting prognosis and immune infiltration in STAD and BLCA.