Investigation of GPR137C as a promising novel marker for the progression of prostate cancer through G4 screen and bioinformatics analyses

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer (PCa) remains the fifth leading cause of male cancer mortality, necessitating novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. METHODS: Through BG4 ChIP-seq profiling in PCa cells, we identified promoter G-quadruplex (G4) structures in prognosis-associated genes, with GPR137C exhibiting a functional G4 in its promoter. RESULTS: This G4 structure facilitates promoter hypomethylation to activate GPR137C transcription. Moreover, GPR137C promotes tumor microenvironment remodeling by enhancing immune cell infiltration, thereby driving PCa progression. DISSCUSSION: This study establishes promoter G4s as epigenetic regulators in PCa while proposing GPR137C as both a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic nexus for GPCR-targeted drug development.