Correlation study of PBK/TOPK expression, prognosis, and immune infiltration in breast cancer

作者：Bingxin Li, Tian Yao, Min Zhang, Jiaxuan Yu, Jiping Xie, Yi Wan, Yulin Ge, Guangxi Sun, Yongqiang Yao · 发表于：Scientific Reports · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41598-025-96542-1 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：FOXO transcription factor regulation、Circular RNAs in diseases、Signaling Pathways in Disease

PDZ-binding kinase/T-lymphokine-activated killer-cell-originated protein kinase (PBK/TOPK) is a serine-threonine protein kinase. This study aimed to investigate the expression pattern, prognostic significance, and relationship with tumor immune infiltration of PBK/TOPK in breast cancer through bioinformatics analyses and immunohistochemistry (IHC), providing insights for individualized treatment and immunotherapy strategies. PBK/TOPK expression and its correlation with clinicopathological features were analyzed using TIMER, UALCAN, and TCGA databases. Prognostic value was assessed via Kaplan–Meier plotter and bc-GenExMiner. Variants of the PBK/TOPK gene and their prognostic implications were explored using cBioPortal. Enrichment analysis in R identified signaling pathways linked to PBK/TOPK. The relationships between PBK/TOPK, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and immune cell markers were evaluated using TIMER and TISIDB. IHC experiments validated PBK/TOPK expression in tumor samples and its association with prognosis. Meanwhile, IHC also further confirmed the correlation between PBK/TOPK and CD4 + and CD8 + T cells infiltration, as well as the relationship between T cells and breast cancer prognosis. PBK/TOPK was significantly overexpressed in breast cancer tissues compared to normal tissues and correlated with clinicopathological features, including tumor size and lymph node stage. High expression of PBK/TOPK was associated with poor prognosis. While breast cancer subt...