RBM47 is a novel immunotherapeutic target and prognostic biomarker in gliomas.

Abstract

The role of RBM47, an RNA-binding protein, in shaping the immune landscape of gliomas and tumor immune responses is yet to be fully studied. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation into the immunomodulatory roles of RBM47 in gliomas was conducted, leveraging gene expression data from multi-omic datasets. The prognosis of patients with gliomas considering RBM47 was elucidated using bioinformatics methods and clinical data, with results validated using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence analyses. The expression of RBM47 in gliomas was higher than that in normal tissues and was positively correlated with the World Health Organization tumor grade. Increased RBM47 expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with glioma, serving as an independent predictor of overall survival. The nomogram combining RBM47 expression levels with clinical prognostic factors demonstrated strong predictive accuracy, achieving a C-index of up to 0.863 in both TCGA training and CGGA validation groups. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and Gene Set Variation Analysis indicated that RBM47 is closely related to immunity and inflammation. Single-cell sequencing and immunofluorescence assays confirmed the enrichment of RBM47 in CD163 + macrophages. Therefore, RBM47 plays a vital role in the immune microenvironment of gliomas and may be a potential immunotherapy target.