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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1399484
This article is part of the Research Topic The Tumor Microenvironment and Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Tumors View all 4 articles

IRX5's Influence on Macrophage Polarization and

Provisionally accepted
Lu Qin Lu Qin Cheng Chen Cheng Chen *Yun Jiang Yun Jiang *
  • Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, China, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background：With a rise in recent years, thyroid cancer (TC) is the most prevalent hormonal cancer worldwide. It is essential to investigate the inherent variability at the molecular level and the immune environment within tumors of various thyroid cancer subtypes in order to identify potential targets for therapy and provide precise treatment for patients with thyroid adenocarcinoma. Methods： First, we analyzed the expression of IRX5 in pancancer and papillary thyroid carcinoma by bioinformatics methods and collected paired samples from our center for validation. Subsequently, we analyzed the significance of IRX5 on the prognosis and diagnosis of PTC. Next, we explored the possible mechanisms by which IRX5 affects the prognosis of thyroid cancer patients by GO/KEGG enrichment analysis, and further investigated the effect of IRX5 on immune infiltration of thyroid cancer. Ultimately, by conducting experiments on cells and animals, we were able to show how IRX5 impacts the aggressive characteristics of thyroid cancer cells and its influence on macrophages within the immune system of thyroid cancer. Results: In 11 malignant tumors, including PTC, IRX5 is overexpressed and associated with a poor prognosis. IRX5 may affect the prognosis of PTC through embryonic organ development, ossification, mesenchyme development, etc. Increased IRX5 expression decreases the presence of cytotoxic and Th17 cells in papillary thyroid cancer. IRX5 was highly expressed in different PTC cell lines, such as K-1 and TPC-1. Silencing IRX5 effectively halted the growth and movement of PTC cells while also decreasing M2 polarization and enhancing M1 polarization in tumorassociated macrophages. Conclusions： IRX5 could impact the outlook of individuals with PTC by stimulating the shift of macrophages to M2 in the immune surroundings of thyroid cancer growths, suggesting a potential new focus for treating thyroid cancer, particularly through immunotherapy.

    Keywords: proliferation, Tumor immune microenvironment, Macrophage polarization, IRX5 gene, thyroid cancer

    Received: 12 Mar 2024; Accepted: 10 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Qin, Chen and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Cheng Chen, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, China, China
    Yun Jiang, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, China, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.