A systemic pan-cancer analysis of MPZL3 as a potential prognostic biomarker and its correlation with immune infiltration and drug sensitivity in breast cancer

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the role of myelin protein zero-like 3 (MPZL3), a single membrane glycoprotein, in prognosis, tumor immune infiltration, and drug susceptibility in human cancers. METHODS: Data regarding MPZL3 were extracted from the TCGA, GTEx, CellMiner, CCLE, TIMER, GSEA, and USCS Xena databases. The expression difference, survival outcomes, DNA methylation, tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), mismatch repair (MMR), tumor microenvironment (TME), immune cell infiltration, and drug sensitivity of MPZL3 were analyzed by R language software. Cell proliferation and drug sensitivity tests were applied to analyze the biological role of MPZL3 and drug sensitivities in breast cancer. RESULTS: MPZL3 was highly expressed in most cancer types and correlated with unfavorable survival outcomes in several cancers. TMB, MSI, MMR, DNA methylation, and RNA modification played a significant role in mediating MPZL3 dysregulation in cancers, and MPZL3 was closely linked to CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T immune infiltration. The MPML3 mRNA level was associated with protein secretion, the Notch signaling pathway, and heme metabolism. In addition, drug sensitivity analysis and validation also indicated that MPZL3 expression influenced the sensitivity of therapeutics targeting EGFR, ABL, FGFR, etc. Additionally, MPZL3 overexpression contributed to proliferation and drug sensitivity in different subtypes of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the oncogenic roles of the pan-cancer gene MPZL3 across different tumors, including breast cancer. MPZL3 could be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer.