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. 2025 Jan;197(1):427-442.
doi: 10.1007/s12010-024-05006-1. Epub 2024 Aug 14.

Prognostic Value of Insulin Growth Factor-Like Receptor 1 (IGFLR1) in Stage II and III Colorectal Cancer and Its Association with Immune Cell Infiltration

Ran Jin #  1 , Fenqi Du #  2 , Xinhao Han #  3 , Junnan Guo  2 , Wenjie Song  2 , Yixiu Xia  2 , Xinyu Yue  2 , Da Yang  2 , Jinxue Tong  4 , Qiuju Zhang  5   6 , Yanlong Liu  7
Affiliations

Prognostic Value of Insulin Growth Factor-Like Receptor 1 (IGFLR1) in Stage II and III Colorectal Cancer and Its Association with Immune Cell Infiltration

Ran Jin et al. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

IGFLR1 is a novel biomarker, and some evidences suggested that is involved in the immune microenvironment of CRC. Here, we explored the expression of IGFLR1 and its association with the prognosis as well as immune cell infiltration in CRC, with the aim to provide a basis for further studies on IGFLR1. Immunohistochemical staining for IGFLR1, TIM-3, FOXP3, CD4, CD8, and PD-1 was performed in eligible tissues to analyze the expression of IGFLR1 and its association with prognosis and immune cell infiltration. Then, we screened colon cancer samples from TCGA and grouped patients according to IGFLR1-related genes. We also evaluated the co-expression and immune-related pathways of IGFLR1 to identify the potential mechanism of it in CRC. When P < 0.05, the results were considered statistically significant. IGFLR1 and IGFLR1-related genes were associated with the prognosis and immune cell infiltration (P < 0.05). In stage II and III CRC tissue and normal tissue, we found (1) IGFLR1 was expressed in both the cell membrane and cytoplasm and which was differentially expressed between cancer tissue and normal tissue. IGFLR1 expression was associated with the expression of FOXP3, CD8, and gender but was not associated with microsatellite instability. (2) IGFLR1 was an independent prognostic factor and patients with high IGFLR1 had a better prognosis. (3) A model including IGFLR1, FOXP3, PD-1, and CD4 showed good prognostic stratification ability. (4) There was a significant interaction between IGFLR1 and GATA3, and IGFLR1 had a significant co-expression with related factors in the INFR pathway. IGFLR1 has emerged as a new molecule related to disease prognosis and immune cell infiltration in CRC patients and showed a good ability to predict the prognosis of patients.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer (CRC); Immune cell infiltration; Insulin growth factor-like receptor 1 (IGFLR1); Prognosis; Prognostic prediction model.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: The study was approved by the ethics committee of Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital (ethical approval number: KY2022-11). All patients included in this study were signed the “Informed Consent for Secondary Use of Biological Specimens.” This was a power of attorney document, which allowed us to use and publish their clinical and pathological information as well as biological specimens in a way that protected their privacy. Consent for Publication: None Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Expression of IGFLR1, TIM-3, FOXP3, PD-1, CD4, and CD8 in cancer tissue
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Association between IGFLR1 and prognosis and development of a prognostic model based on IGFLR1. A Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of CRC patients based on the expression levels of IGFLR1. B ROC curves evaluating the predictive ability of the independent prognostic factor. C LASSO regression model for the construction of a prognostic stratification model. D Molecular expression data of patients from each group. E Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of different groups after cluster analysis. F ROC curves evaluating the predictive ability of the prognostic stratification model
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Screening of IGFLR1-related genes and construction of immune infiltration-related models. A Analysis of differential gene expression of different groups. B–E Cluster analysis of gene expression pattern. F Correlation between different cluster groups and immune infiltration. G, H LASSO analysis was used to screen prognostic genes
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Construction of prognostic model based on IGFLR1-related genes and analysis of immune infiltration in different risk groups. A, B Stratification of patients into high and low-risk groups. C Kaplan-Meier curves for the overall survival (OS) between low- and high-risk groups. D, E Univariate and multivariate analysis for predicting factors. F Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under curve (AUC) for the prognostic model. G–J Analysis of immune infiltration in high- and low-risk groups
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Correlation between IGFLR1 expression and immune cell infiltration
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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