Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer

Abstract OVO-like protein 1 (OVOL1) has been implicated in the progression of various human cancers; however, the prognostic and immunological significance, as well as its biological role in pancreatic cancer, are unknown. In this study, by analyzing multiple patient cohorts, OVOL1 was found to be e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jinping Li, Zhenyan Deng, Zhaofang Yan, Shuxian Huang, Jiamin Jin, Chichu Xie, Jinfeng Gan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13196-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849342967223943168
author Jinping Li
Zhenyan Deng
Zhaofang Yan
Shuxian Huang
Jiamin Jin
Chichu Xie
Jinfeng Gan
author_facet Jinping Li
Zhenyan Deng
Zhaofang Yan
Shuxian Huang
Jiamin Jin
Chichu Xie
Jinfeng Gan
author_sort Jinping Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract OVO-like protein 1 (OVOL1) has been implicated in the progression of various human cancers; however, the prognostic and immunological significance, as well as its biological role in pancreatic cancer, are unknown. In this study, by analyzing multiple patient cohorts, OVOL1 was found to be elevated in pancreatic cancer, which was associated with poor overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI). Two nomogram survival models for predicting 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS and DSS with excellent accuracy were constructed, respectively. Tumors with elevated OVOL1 expression showed decreased immune cell infiltration, including CD8 T cells, NK cells, and cytotoxic cells, and increased tumor mutation burden (TMB). Enrichment analysis revealed that OVOL1 was related to various biological terms and signaling pathways. Knockdown of OVOL1 reduced the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells and inhibited the ERK/JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, OVOL1 was revealed to be hypomethylated in pancreatic cancer, with low levels of OVOL1 methylation predicting poor outcomes. Our findings suggest that upregulation of OVOL1 has prognostic value and is associated with the unfavorable immune microenvironment in pancreatic cancer. OVOL1 is crucial for pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, which could be attributed to its effect on the ERK/JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway.
format Article
id doaj-art-2e8d8088e75c4b1594dbf79d8865b918
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-2e8d8088e75c4b1594dbf79d8865b9182025-08-20T03:43:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-13196-9Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancerJinping Li0Zhenyan Deng1Zhaofang Yan2Shuxian Huang3Jiamin Jin4Chichu Xie5Jinfeng Gan6Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guilin Medical UniversityDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Guilin Hospital of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical UniversityGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical UniversityGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical UniversityGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical UniversityGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical UniversityAbstract OVO-like protein 1 (OVOL1) has been implicated in the progression of various human cancers; however, the prognostic and immunological significance, as well as its biological role in pancreatic cancer, are unknown. In this study, by analyzing multiple patient cohorts, OVOL1 was found to be elevated in pancreatic cancer, which was associated with poor overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI). Two nomogram survival models for predicting 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS and DSS with excellent accuracy were constructed, respectively. Tumors with elevated OVOL1 expression showed decreased immune cell infiltration, including CD8 T cells, NK cells, and cytotoxic cells, and increased tumor mutation burden (TMB). Enrichment analysis revealed that OVOL1 was related to various biological terms and signaling pathways. Knockdown of OVOL1 reduced the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells and inhibited the ERK/JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, OVOL1 was revealed to be hypomethylated in pancreatic cancer, with low levels of OVOL1 methylation predicting poor outcomes. Our findings suggest that upregulation of OVOL1 has prognostic value and is associated with the unfavorable immune microenvironment in pancreatic cancer. OVOL1 is crucial for pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, which could be attributed to its effect on the ERK/JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13196-9OVOL1Pancreatic cancerPrognosisImmune microenvironmentProliferationMAPK signaling pathway
spellingShingle Jinping Li
Zhenyan Deng
Zhaofang Yan
Shuxian Huang
Jiamin Jin
Chichu Xie
Jinfeng Gan
Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
Scientific Reports
OVOL1
Pancreatic cancer
Prognosis
Immune microenvironment
Proliferation
MAPK signaling pathway
title Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
title_full Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
title_fullStr Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
title_full_unstemmed Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
title_short Unveiling the impact of OVOL1 on prognosis, immune microenvironment, and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
title_sort unveiling the impact of ovol1 on prognosis immune microenvironment and proliferation in pancreatic cancer
topic OVOL1
Pancreatic cancer
Prognosis
Immune microenvironment
Proliferation
MAPK signaling pathway
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13196-9
work_keys_str_mv AT jinpingli unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer
AT zhenyandeng unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer
AT zhaofangyan unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer
AT shuxianhuang unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer
AT jiaminjin unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer
AT chichuxie unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer
AT jinfenggan unveilingtheimpactofovol1onprognosisimmunemicroenvironmentandproliferationinpancreaticcancer