Investigating POU3F4 in cancer - Expression patterns, prognostic implications, and functional roles in tumor immunity

Sep 21, 2026

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Research assesses POU3F4 as a broadly relevant factor in cancer biology, yet pan-cancer evaluations of its prognostic and immune functions remain limited. This study evaluates POU3F4 across thirty-three cancers using TCGA, CCLE, GTE, and GSCA datasets and integrates DNA and RNA methylation, TMB, MMR genes, MSI, prognosis associations, and immune cell infiltration. POU3F4 is generally low, but increased in breast invasive carcinoma, GBM, liver hepatocellular carcinoma, and thyroid carcinoma. Expression links to prognosis, MSI, TMB, epigenetic regulation, tumor immune microenvironment features, immune checkpoint activity, and drug resistance; in vitro, POU3F4 enhances GBM viability, proliferation, and migration.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages22

Reading Time55 min

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Introduction

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Abstract

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Results and findings

Heliyon 11 (2025) e41587 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Heliyon journal [homepage:](homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon)[ www.cell.com/heliyon](homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon) | Research article
Investigating POU3F4 in cancer: Expression patterns, prognostic implications, and functional roles in tumor immunity | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Weiwei Chena,c,1, Yaya Jib,1, Rui Wang a,b, Ruijie Jib, Yujian Lin b, Yuhang Wu b, Lehan Liu b, Tianle Shab, Wen Lib, Lei Zhang b, Longfei Yangb, Xinhua Zhang a,b,*, Jianxiang Song a,**
a Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, The Yancheng School of Clinical Medicine of Nanjing Medical University, Yancheng, 224002, China
b Department of Anatomy, Institute of Neurobiology, Medical School, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, China
c Department of Radiotherapy, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, The Yancheng School of Clinical Medicine of Nanjing Medical University, Yancheng, 224002, China | | | | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | | Keywords: POU3F4
Pan-cancer analysis
Prognostic signature Tumor immunity Drug resistance | | Research has demonstrated that POU3F4 is integral to various cancers, in addition to its significance in inner ear development, pancreatic differentiation, as well as neural stem cell differentiation. Nevertheless, comprehensive pan-cancer analyses focusing on POU3F4 remain limited. This study aims to assess the prognostic value of POU3F4 in thirty-three cancers and explore its immune-related functions. Based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTE), and Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA), we employed various bioinformatics approaches to investigate the potential carcinogenic effects of POU3F4. Our study encompassed DNA methylation, RNA methylation, tumor mutation burden (TMB), mismatch repair (MMR) genes, microsatellite instability (MSI), the relationship between POU3F4 and prognosis, and immune cell infiltration (ICI) across different tumors. The analysis revealed that POU3F4 expression is typically low in most cancers but is elevated in breast invasive carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), liver hepatocellular carcinoma, and thyroid carcinoma, with the highest levels in GBM. Additionally, POU3F4 expression correlates with cancer prognosis, either positively or negatively. The expression of POU3F4 demonstrated significant associations with MSI in four cancers and TMB in six cancers. POU3F4 expression was significantly linked to DNA methylation in 13 cancer types and RNA methylation in most cancers. It also correlated with the tumor immune microenvironment, immune-related genes, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and drug resistance in various cancers. In vitro experiments demonstrated that POU3F4 enhances cell viability, proliferation, and migration in GBM. Our findings indicate that, given its critical role in carcinogenesis and tumor immunity, POU3F4 serves as a prognostic marker in diverse malignancies. | | ** Corresponding author. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, The Yancheng School of Clinical Medicine of Nanjing Medical University, Yancheng 224002, China. * Corresponding author. Department of Anatomy, Institute of Neurobiology, Medical School, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, China. E-mail addresses: [zhangxinhua@ntu.edu.cn](zhangxinhua@ntu.edu.cn) (X. Zhang), [sjx203252@163.com](sjx203252@163.com) (J. Song). 1 The authors contribute equally to this work. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41587](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41587) Received 23 August 2024; Received in revised form 16 December 2024; Accepted 30 December 2024 Available

FAQs

What is the main goal of the study on POU3F4 in cancer?

To determine the prognostic value of POU3F4 across thirty-three cancers and to explore its immune-related functional roles in tumor biology.

Where is POU3F4 expression elevated compared with most cancers?

POU3F4 is typically low in most cancers but elevated in breast invasive carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), liver hepatocellular carcinoma, and thyroid carcinoma, with the highest levels in GBM.

How does POU3F4 relate to tumor immunity and treatment resistance?

POU3F4 expression is associated with tumor immune microenvironment features, immune-related genes and checkpoint activity, and drug resistance; it also shows correlations with MSI and TMB and links to epigenetic methylation patterns.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Aurelia