B7-H6 is a Prognostic Biomarker for Human Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma and Correlates with Immune Cell Infiltration

Abstract The B7 homolog 6 (B7-H6) is a newly discovered co-stimulatory molecule of the B7 family, which found to be widely expressed in various tumors. The purpose of this study is to identify the prognostic significance of B7-H6 and its relation with immune cell infiltration in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database and Kaplan-Meier plotter database, we explored B7-H6 expression and its prognostic significance of ccRCC. Finally, the association between B7-H6 expression and tumor infiltration immune status was estimated via TIMER and CIBERSORT. We found that B7-H6 was remarkably elevated in ccRCC than normal kidney tissues and adjacent tumor-free tissues. Patients with high B7-H6 expression had favorable overall, disease-free survival and progress-free interval. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses demonstrated that B7-H6 expression was an independent protective factor for overall survival in ccRCC patients. Moreover, the expression of B7-H6 was correlated with differential immune cell infiltration and various immune biomarkers. This study reveals that increased B7-H6 expression correlates with favorable prognosis in ccRCC. It could be a novel clinical biomarker and provide new insights for future treatments in ccRCC.