Prognostic significance and immune correlation analysis of HMOX1 in pan-cancer

Background Heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1), known for its anti-inflammatory properties, is crucial for iron homeostasis, antioxidation, and apoptosis prevention. However, its role in various malignancies is not well understood. This research aimed to analyze immunocorrelation and to study HMOX1's prognostic significance in pan-cancer. Methods The RNA-seq data and expression data of HMOX1 were mined from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. Limma package was utilized to assess the discrepancies of HMOX1 expression in tumor and normal tissue. The prognostic importance of HMOX1 in pan-cancer was assessed via Kaplan-Meier curve and univariate Cox regression analysis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to explore molecular mechanisms, immune environment links, and drug sensitivity. Cellular experiments confirmed HMOX1 expression. Results In 15 malignancies, HMOX1 was more highly expressed in tumor tissues than normal ones. Upregulated HMOX1 was related with poor OS and DSS in LGG, THYM, and UVM, but better survival in CHOL and KIRC. Besides, HMOX1 was primarily enriched in immune-related pathways and correlated positively with most immune cells and genes, which might indicate that HMOX1 affect the onset and growth of tumors by affecting tumor microenvironment. Most drug were positively correlated with HMOX1 expression, except for 17-AAG. In vitro experiments ,the expression of HMOX1 was down-regulated in cholangiocarcinoma-associated cells compared to normal cells. Conclusion This study clarified HMOX1's expression profile and prognostic significance in various malignant tumors, indicating that HMOX1 served as a feature gene for immune infiltration and prognostic value in cancers, particularly in cholangiocarcinoma.