NFE2L2 Is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Is Correlated with Immune Infiltration in Brain Lower Grade Glioma: A Pan-Cancer Analysis

Abstract EN

Nuclear factor, erythroid 2 like 2 (NFE2L2, NRF2) is a transcription factor that regulates various antioxidant enzymes.

It plays a vital physiological role in regulating oxidative stress and inflammatory response.

However, the roles of NFE2L2 in human cancers are still unclear.

Our study is aimed at analyzing the prognostic value of NFE2L2 in pan-cancer and at revealing the relationship between NFE2L2 expression and tumor immunity.

The present study revealed that NFE2L2 was abnormally expressed and significantly correlated with mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutation levels and DNA methyltransferase expression in human pan-cancer.

In particular, pan-cancer survival analysis indicated that NFE2L2 expression was associated with adverse outcomes—overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI)—in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), brain lower grade glioma (LGG), and pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients.

A positive relationship was also found between NFE2L2 expression and immune infiltration, including B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells, especially in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), LGG, liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), and prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD).

Additionally, NFE2L2 expression was positively correlated with the immune score and the expression of immune checkpoint markers in LGG.

In conclusion, these results indicate that transcription factor NFE2L2 is a potential prognostic biomarker and is correlated with immune infiltration in LGG.