Comprehensive analysis of HDAC7 expression and its prognostic value in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Abstract

Abstract Background: HDAC7 is a class IIa histone deacetylase (HDAC) that exhibits lymph-specific expression patterns in the hematopoietic system. HDAC7 loss or dysregulation may lead to B cell-based hematological malignancies. This study aimed to explore the prognostic value of HDAC7 in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods: RNA sequencing data and clinical information for HDAC7 in DLBCL were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and analyzed using R software. Paired t and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to detect differences between DLBCL and adjacent normal tissues, and the pROC software package was used to generate receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves to detect cut-off values for HDAC7. Data from paraffin-embedded specimens from the two groups were used for validation of external immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The relationship between DLBCL and HDAC7 was explored by enrichment analysis using the Gene Oncology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomesdatabases. The tumor immunity estimation resource (TIMER) and integrated repository portal for tumor-immune system interactions (TISIDB) databases were used to analyze the correlation between HDAC7 and DLBCL immune cell infiltration. Survival analysis of HDAC7 in patients with DLBCL was performed using the PrognoScan database. Results: Compared with that in normal tissues, HDAC7 mRNA was overexpressed in DLBCL. The HDAC7 IHC scores of stage III and IV DLBCL patients were significantly lower than those of stageI and II DLBCL patients, which was associated with shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). In addition, the higher expression of HDAC7 may play a role in the lower level of immune infiltration in DLBCL. Conclusions: Downregulation of HDAC7 expression was correlated with poor prognosis and immune infiltration in DLBCL patients. This has potential as a novel marker for the prognosis of DLBCL patients.