ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1598499
This article is part of the Research TopicHarnessing Molecular Insights for Enhanced Drug Sensitivity and Immunotherapy in CancerView all 35 articles
TMEM115: a promising marker for glioma immunotherapy and prognosis
Provisionally accepted
Hang Yin1,2Feng Wang1,2Haiyan Xu1,2
Manyu Xu1,2Pengpeng Lu1
Xiaojing Zhang1,3
Lei Yang1,3
Bing Lu1,3
Pingping Sun1,3
Jianfei Huang1,3*- 1Clinical and Translational Research Center, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
- 2Department of Pathology Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
- 3Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China
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Background: Glioma is a common malignant primary brain tumor characterized by a highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and unfavorable prognosis. Transmembrane protein 115 (TMEM115) is a protein-coding gene. It may play a role in the retrograde transport of proteins from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum. At the same time, it may also play an indirect role in protein glycosylation at the Golgi. However, the role of TMEM115 in glioma progression is still unclear and, therefore, needs further exploration. Methods: RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas databases of glioma patients and multiplex Immunohistochemistry by glioma tissue microarrays were analyzed to determine the expression and localization of TMEM115. Functional assessment of TMEM115 involved cell proliferation, migration, and invasion assays. Pearson's test was utilized to evaluate the association between TMEM115 protein levels, tumor immune infiltrating cells, and immune checkpoints. In addition, χ2 test and Cox regression analyses were performed to investigate whether TMEM115 protein expression is related to clinical characteristics and patient outcomes.Results: The results revealed a significant increase in TMEM115 expression in tumors than in non-tumor brain tissues, and knockdown of TMEM115 affects the ability of glioma cell lines to proliferate, migrate, and invade. Additionally, a significant correlation between TMEM115 protein, M2 macrophages (CD68+CD163+), and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1). Further analysis confirmed a correlation between TMEM115 protein expression in glioma tissues, World Health Organization Grade, and patients' poorer prognosis.Conclusion: These findings support TMEM115 as a potential independent prognostic biomarker in glioma and suggest its promise as a target for immunotherapy.
Keywords: Glioma, TMEM115, prognosis, M2 macrophage, PD-L1
Received: 23 Mar 2025; Accepted: 15 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yin, Wang, Xu, Xu, Lu, Zhang, Yang, Lu, Sun and Huang. 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: Jianfei Huang, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China
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