MGME1 associates with poor prognosis and is vital for cell proliferation in lower-grade glioma.

Objective: Mitochondrial genome maintenance exonuclease 1 (MGME1) is associated with DNA depletion, deletion, duplication, and rearrangement. However, the function of MGME1 in tumors, especially lower-grade gliomas (LGGs), has not been established.

Methods: Pan-cancer analysis was used to define the expression patterns and prognostic value of MGME1 in various cancers. Subsequently, we systematically determined the associations between MGME1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, biological functions, immune characteristics, genomic mutations, and therapeutic responses of LGGs based on their expression patterns. The expression level and specific functions of MGME1 in LGGs was detected by conducting experiments.

Results: Abnormally enhanced and high MGME1 expressions were associated with poor prognoses of various tumors, including LGG. Multivariate and univariate Cox regression analyses manifested that MGME1 expression was an independent prognostic biomarker for LGG. The immune-related signatures, infiltration of immune cells, immune checkpoint genes (ICPGs), copy number alteration (CNA), tumor mutation burden (TMB), and treatment responses of LGG patients were associated with the expression of MGME1. The experiments affirmed that MGME1 was elevated and tightly connected with the cell proliferation and cell cycle in LGG.

Conclusions: MGME1 is an independent prognostic biomarker and closely related to the cell proliferation in LGG.