The relationship between TEAD gene family and prognosis, tumor microenvironment and therapeutic target by pan-cancer analysis

Abstract Background Transcription Enhanced Association Domain (TEAD) transcription factors family involves in many signal transduction pathways, and is necessary for cell proliferation, apoptosis and other vital activities. TEAD1-4 is abnormally expressed in many tumors, and is related to tumor progression, drug resistance, poor prognosis, etc. In this study, we assessed the effect of the TEAD family on pan-cancer. Methods We downloaded transcriptome and clinical data from 33 types of TCGA tumor samples and adjacent tissues. Then, the expression characteristics of TEAD family members TEAD1, TEAD2, TEAD3 and TEAD4 in pan-cancer were analyzed. R packet and Cox regression were used to analyze the clinical correlation. In addition, the transcription level of TEAD and immune subtypes, stem cells, immune tumor microenvironment and drug sensitivity were analyzed by multidimensional correlation. Results We found the expression of TEAD1-4 was significantly different in various tumors. The survival time of patients with high and low TEAD1-4 gene expression was significantly different. TEAD1-4 was significantly associated with immune-infiltrating subtypes of tumor microenvironment (TME), and was positively correlated with interstitial cell infiltration and tumor cell dryness. The transcriptional expression level of TEAD1-4 was also related to drug response. TEAD may play a role in the sensitivity or resistance of tumor cells to drug therapy, and may serve as a therapeutic target to overcome drug-induced resistance. Conclusions Our systematic analysis reveals TEAD gene expression and its relationship with immune invasion, TME, tumor stem cells, drug sensitivity, and prognosis in cancer patients, and it is necessary to study the role of each TEAD family member in specific cancer type. Although further laboratory validation is needed, our study confirms that TEAD family genes are promising therapeutic targets and potential prognostic indicators in cancers.