Identification of MMP1 as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Correlating with Immune Infiltrates in Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC) is a human papillomavirus-driven tumor that the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the key candidate genes and potential mechanism in CESC by bioinformatics analysis. A total of 132 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on three expression profile data sets. A multivariate Cox proportional regression model was used to develop a four-gene prognostic signature. Mechanistically, the correlationship between MMP1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was further analyzed. Furthermore, annotations were investigated by Gene Ontology (GO) and The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. Finally, potential drugs for CESC treatment were predicted by Connectivity Map. We profiled four genes (EFNA1, ANLN, MMP1, and ZWINT) with significant prognostic values for CESC. Multiple public available data sets were used for mRNA expression and prognostic characterization. Subsequently, GO and KEGG pathway analyses showed DEGs were mainly enriched in cell cycle, immunity, and metabolic-related pathway. We then conducted an integrated analysis of MMP1, and the expression of MMP1 showed significantly inverse association with the amount of CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and macrophages infiltration. Our findings suggest the four-gene signature may be associated with prognosis. We further revealed that MMP1 may be a novel biomarker for immunotherapy, and prognostic judgment of patients with cervical cancer.