Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of gynaecologic malignancies worldwide. This study aimed to explore the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of TMUB1 in ovarian cancer. METHODS: To investigate the subcellular localization of TMUB1 under serum deprivation conditions, immunofluorescence staining was performed. The cell cycle distribution was analysed by flow cytometry. TMUB1-interacting proteins were identified through immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare overall survival between patients with high and low TMUB1 expression. Stromal and immune scores for tumour tissues in TCGA were calculated to assess the tumour microenvironment. RESULTS: TMUB1 plays a crucial role in regulating the cell cycle by promoting entry into the G0/G1 phase. Survival analysis revealed that TMUB1 expression is positively associated with favourable prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer. Pathway enrichment analysis highlighted several tumour-related pathways, including ECM-receptor interaction, JAK-STAT signalling, p53 signalling and apoptosis. The high TMUB1 expression group presented lower stromal scores. An inverse correlation was observed between TMUB1 expression and the expression of key immune checkpoint proteins. CONCLUSIONS: TMUB1 might participate in the regulation of the G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, and it is a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.