Multi-omics analysis of N6-methyladenosine reader IGF2BP3 as a promising biomarker in pan-cancer

BackgroundInsulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) has been reported to exhibit an oncogenic effect as an RNA-binding protein (RBP) by promoting tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion in several tumor types. However, a pan-cancer analysis of IGF2BP3 is not currently available, and the exact roles of IGF2BP3 in prognosis and immunology in cancer patients remain enigmatic. The main aim of this study was to provide visualization of the systemic prognostic landscape of IGF2BP3 in pan-cancer and to uncover the potential relationship between IGF2BP3 expression in the tumor microenvironment and immune infiltration profile. MethodsRaw data on IGF2BP3 expression were obtained from GTEx, CCLE, TCGA, and HPA data portals. We have investigated the expression patterns, diagnostic and prognostic significance, mutation landscapes, functional analysis, and functional states of IGF2BP3 utilizing multiple databases, including HPA, TISIDB, cBioPortal, GeneMANIA, GESA, and CancerSEA. Moreover, the relationship of IGF2BP3 expression with immune infiltrates, TMB, MSI and immune-related genes was evaluated in pan-cancer. IGF2BP3 with drug sensitivity analysis was performed from the CellMiner database. Furthermore, the expression of IGF2BP3 in different grades of glioma was detected by immunohistochemical staining and western blot. ResultsWe found that IGF2BP3 was ubiquitously highly expressed in pan-cancer and significantly correlated with diagnosis, prognosis, TMB, MSI, and drug sensitivity in various types of cancer. Besides, IGF2BP3 was involved in many cancer pathways and varied in different immune and molecular subtypes of cancers. Additionally, IGF2BP3 is critically associated with genetic markers of immunomodulators in various cancers. Finally, we validated that IGF2BP3 protein expression was significantly higher in glioma than in normal tissue, especially in GBM. ConclusionsIGF2BP3 may be a potential molecular biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in pan-cancer, especially for glioma. It could become a novel therapeutic target for various cancers.