Identifying potential therapeutic targets for prostate cancer with mediating role in tumor immunity

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading malignancy with a rising global incidence, posing significant challenges in treatment. The immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) in CRPC is a major barrier to effective immunotherapy. Identifying therapeutic targets that modulate the immune response within TME is crucial for advancing PCa treatment. Materials and Methods In this study, we employed Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal relationships between gene expression of blood proteins and PCa risk. We utilized cis-eQTL data from the eQTLGen Consortium and immune cell phenotype data from the NHGRI-EBI GWAS Catalog. Our analysis included discovery and validation cohorts, totaling over 800,000 individuals. Colocalization analysis was performed to confirm the genetic associations, and mediation MR analysis was used to explore the mediating role of proteins in tumor immunity. Drug prediction and molecular docking were applied to assess the potential of identified targets as druggable candidates. Results Our MR analysis identified 557 proteins associated with PCa in the discovery cohort, with 86 proteins remaining significant in an independent validation cohort. Mediation analysis revealed nine proteins that mediated the impact of immune cells on PCa. Colocalization analysis confirmed the causality of five proteins, which were further supported by phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Molecular docking demonstrated strong binding affinity of potential drugs to these targets. Conclusions This study identified five drug targets in prostate cancer that modulate the tumor immune response. These targets may expedite drug development and personalize medicine, potentially enhancing treatment efficacy and reducing side effects.