The Role of RANBP3L in Pan-Cancer With Its Significance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: RAN binding protein 3-like (RANBP3L), a member of the Ran-binding protein family, has been linked to various cellular functions, but the role in cancer remains underexplored. In this research, we assessed the diagnostic and prognostic value of RANBP3L in pan-cancer, especially in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). AIMS: This study aimed to explore the pan-cancer expression, prognostic value, and immune-related roles of RANBP3L, especially emphasis on validating its diagnostic and prognostic significance in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: We analyzed RANBP3L expression of 33 cancer types from TCGA data and assessed its relationship with overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI). We used TIMER2.0 and CIBERSORT to explore the correlation between RANBP3L expression and immune cells. We conducted immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and western blotting by using tissue samples from LIHC patients to assess the RANBP3L's diagnostic and prognostic value of LIHC. RESULTS: In 18 different cancers, RANBP3L expression was found to be lower in tumor tissues compared to normal tissues, including LIHC. Lower RANBP3L expression was related to shorter OS, DSS, and PFI in LIHC. ROC analysis and the nomogram model based on RANBP3L expression demonstrated high predictive accuracy for patient diagnosis and survival. Moreover, immune infiltration analysis showed that RANBP3L was related to various immune cells and impacted prognosis. Furthermore, analysis of LIHC patient tissues found that higher RANBP3L expression was related to better tumor-free survival and OS. CONCLUSION: RANBP3L plays a crucial role in LIHC. Not only does its expression level correlate with patient survival, but it also plays an important role in immune modulation. RANBP3L presents a promising candidate for future therapeutic strategies and a biomarker for LIHC.