Comprehensive analysis of alternative polyadenylation regulators concerning CD276 and immune infiltration in bladder cancer

Abstract Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is emerging as a crucial regulatory mechanism in bladder cancer (BC), while it remains elusive whether APA influences the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in BC. We identified two distinct subtypes of BC by APA-related regulatory genes expression profiles. The two subtypes have different pathological grades, prognostic outcomes, tumor immune infiltration characteristics, and pathway enrichment. Subsequently, CPSF3 was identified as a potential immune infiltration-related gene in BC. Highly expressed CPSF3 was positively correlated with unfavorable prognosis and high CD276 expression in BC. Moreover, we verified the expression of CPSF3 in BC tissues and cell lines by qRT-PCR. In conclusion, the study indicates that APA regulatory factors play an important role in immune infiltration of BC, and that CPSF3 was a potentially prognostic marker and immunotherapy target for BC.