Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier 1 as a Novel Prognostic Biomarker in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background Abnormal mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1 (MPC1) expression plays a key role in tumor metabolic reprogramming and progression. Understanding its significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is crucial for identifying therapeutic targets. Methods TIMER 2.0 was utilized to assess the expression of MPC1 in both normal and cancer tissues in pan-cancer. Overall survival (OS) differences between high and low MPC1 expression were analyzed in NSCLC using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. We also examined the expression of MPC1 in NSCLC cell lines using western blotting and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In addition, the tissue samples and clinical information of 80 patients with NSCLC from our hospital were collected. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to assess MPC1 expression, and OS was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the prognostic values of the clinical characteristics and MPC1expression. Results Analysis of public databases suggested that MPC1 was downregulated in NSCLC compared to that in normal lung tissue and predicted poor prognosis. In addition, the expression of MPC1 in NSCLC cell lines was lower than that in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells at both protein and mRNA levels. Further clinical analysis suggested that MPC1 expression was correlated with age, tumor T stage, and TNM stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that NSCLC patients with high MPC1 expression had a better prognosis, particularly in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), whereas no survival benefit was observed in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Univariate and multivariate analyses suggested that MPC1 was an independent prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC. Conclusions MPC1 is poorly expressed in NSCLC, particularly in LUAD, which predicts a poor prognosis and may serve as an independent prognostic factor. Further studies on MPC1 may reveal new targets for the treatment of NSCLC.