The overexpression and clinical significance of TBX15 in human gliomas

T-box transcription factor 15 (TBX15) is upregulated in a variety of tumors and has been reported to promote uncontrolled proliferation of tumor cells and induce tumor cells to avoid apoptosis, thus accelerating the malignant transformation of malignant tumors. However, the prognostic value of TBX15 in glioma and its relationship with immune infiltration remain unknown. In this study, we intended to explore the prognostic value of TBX15 and its link to glioma immune infiltration and examine TBX15 expression in pan-cancer using RNAseq data in TPM format from TCGA and GTEx. TBX15 mRNA and protein expressions in glioma cells and adjacent normal tissue were detected and compared by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The effect of TBX15 on survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier Method. The correlation between TBX15 upregulation and the clinicopathological characteristics of glioma patients was assessed by using TCGA databases, and the relationship between TBX15 and other genes in glioma was evaluated by using TCGA data. The top 300 genes most significantly associated with TBX15 were selected to establish a PPI network through the STRING database. The relationship between TBX15 mRNA expression and immune cell infiltration was explored by using ssGSEA and the TIMER Database. It was found that TBX15 mRNA expression in glioma tissues was significantly higher than that in the adjacent normal tissues, and this difference was most obvious in high-grade gliomas. TBX15 expression was increased in human gliomas and associated with worse clinicopathological characteristics and poorer survival prognosis in glioma patients. In addition, elevated TBX15 expression was linked to a collection of genes involved in immunosuppression. In conclusion, TBX15 played an important role in immune cell infiltration in glioma and may prove to be a predictor of the prognosis in glioma patients.

Automated summary

The upregulation of TBX15 has been observed in various tumors and is known to promote uncontrolled tumor cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis, thereby accelerating the malignant transformation of tumors. However, the prognostic significance of TBX15 in glioma and its correlation with immune infiltration are still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of TBX15 and its relationship with immune infiltration in glioma, as well as evaluate TBX15 expression in pan-cancer using RNAseq data.