KIRC is one of the most common
cancers with a poor prognosis. ACE2 was involved in
tumor angiogenesis and progression in many
malignancies. The role of ACE2 in KIRC is still ambiguous.
METHODS: Various bioinformatics analysis tools were investigated to evaluate the prognostic value of ACE2 and its association with immune infiltration in KIRC.
RESULTS: ACE2 was shown to be downregulated in KIRC at the
mRNA and
protein level. Low expression of
ACE2 protein in KIRC patients was observed in subgroup analyses based on gender, age, weight,
tumor grade, and
cancer stage. Upregulation of ACE2 in KIRC was associated with a favorable prognosis. ACE2
mRNA expression showed a positive correlation with the abundance of immune cells (B cells, CD8+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells) and the level of
immune markers of different immune cells in KIRC. ACE2 expression could affect, in part, the immune infiltration and the advanced
cancer stage. Moreover, enrichment analysis revealed that ACE2 in KIRC were mainly involved in translation factor activity,
immunoglobulin binding, metabolic pathways, transcriptional misregulation in cancerous cells, cell cycle, and ribosomal activity. Several ACE2-associated
kinases,
miRNA, and
transcription factor targets in KIRC were also identified.
CONCLUSION: