Upregulation of ARHGAP9 is correlated with poor prognosis and immune infiltration in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundRho GTPase Activating Protein (ARHGAP) family genes play critical roles in the onset and progression of human cancer. Rho GTPase Activating Protein 9 (ARHGAP9) is upregulated in various tumors. However, far too little attention has been paid to the prognostic value of ARHGAP9 and correlation with immune infiltration in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Our aim is to evaluate the prognostic significance of ARHGAP9 expression and its correlation with immune infiltration in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.MethodsTranscriptional expression profiles of ARHGAP9 between clear cell renal cell carcinoma tissues and normal tissues were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The ARHGAP9 protein expression was assessed by the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to differentiate clear cell renal cell carcinoma from adjacent normal tissues. The Kaplan-Meier method was conducted to assess the effect of ARHGAP9 on survival. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed by the STRING. Functional enrichment analyses were performed using the "ClusterProfiler" package. The immune infiltration patterns were evaluated via the tumor immune estimation resource 2.0 (TIMER 2.0) and TISIDB database.ResultsARHGAP9 expression was substantially higher in clear cell renal cell carcinoma tissues than in adjacent normal tissues. Increased ARHGAP9 mRNA expression was shown to be linked to high TNM stage and lymph node metastases. The diagnostic value of ARHGAP9 gene expression data was assessed using ROC curve analysis. The survival analysis module of GEPIA2 and the Kaplan-Meier plotter both showed clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients with high-ARHGAP9 had a worse prognosis than those with low-ARHGAP9. Correlation analysis indicated ARHGAP9 mRNA expression was significantly correlated with tumor purity and immune infiltrates.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that up-regulated ARHGAP9 indicates poor prognosis and immune infiltration in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The current findings suggest that ARHGAP9 can be an effective biomarker and potential therapeutic strategy for ccRCC.