Identification of prognostic implications of potential biomarker in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Purpose: Exploring new understanding of genetic factors can help reveal the etiology of MPM and improve the survival rate of patients with MPM. Methods: We explored the expression pattern in MPM across GEO, DAVID, HMDD, and miRNet. The PPI networks of the intersection targets were constructed by STRING and Cytoscape, and the hub genes were selected by plugin cytoHubba. The survival analysis of hub genes was also carried out based on the GEPIA and UALCAN database. The immune subtype and infiltration analyses were performed using TISTDB and TIMER database. Results: A total of 251 DEGs were detected. GO and KEGG pathway analysis revealed that DEGs were significantly enriched in extracellular matrix organization, ECM-receptor interaction. The PPI network was assessed, and the top 10 hub genes were identified by evaluating degrees. High expression level of CDH2, COL3A1, CAV1 was associated with worse prognostic value in MPM. For different immune subtypes, significant connection with CDH2/COL3A1/CAV1 expression existed in MPM. The correlation between immune cells and hub genes showed that CAV1 was positively correlated with Dendritic cells, CDH2 was positively correlated with Dendritic cells, while it was negatively correlated with Neutrophil. COL3A1 expression was positively associated with infiltration levels of Macrophages, whereas negative association with Neutrophil. Furthermore, Neutrophil and CDH2 was significantly correlated with the clinical outcomes of MPM. Conclusion: CDH2, COL3A1, and CAV1 may serve as a promising prognostic biomarker in MPM, in particular, the correlation between CDH2 and Neutrophil is one of the critical factors affecting MPM prognosis.