Prognostic value and microenvironmental crosstalk of exosome-related signatures in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer

This study aimed to determine the prognostic value and microenvironmental crosstalk of exosome-related signatures in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer (HER2+ BC). Transcriptome sequencing and clinicopathological data were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas. The 10X single cell sequencing dataset was downloaded from the National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus. Exosomes-Related Genes were extracted from the ExoCarta and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis databases. FGF9, SF3B4, and EPCAM were found and deemed the most accurate predictive signatures. Patients with HER2+ BC were subtyped into three groupings by exosome prognostic gene (EPGs). The expression of SF3B4 was positively linked with the infiltration of macrophages, neutrophils, and CD4+ T cells. The expression characteristics of EPGs were associated with the biological process of “response to xenobiotic stimuli.” Interactions were relatively high between malignant epithelial cells and fibroblasts, endothelial cells, monocytes, and macrophages. Malignant epithelial cells interact more with fibroblasts and endothelial cells. The migration inhibitory factor pathway was the primary outgoing signaling pattern, while the C-C motif chemokine ligand pathway was the primary incoming signaling pattern for communication between malignant epithelial cells and macrophages. This study described the role of exosome signatures in the prognosis and microenvironment of HER2+ BC and provided a basis for future research.