Plasminogen Activator Urokinase Receptor Implies Immunosuppressive Features and Acts as an Unfavorable Prognostic Biomarker in Glioma.

Although the efficacy of immunotherapy has been verified in other tumors, its application in glioma is impeded because of the unique microenvironment. Tumor-associated macrophages, which are particularly abundant in a glioma mass, contribute much to the immunosuppressive microenvironment and offer new opportunities in glioma immunotherapy. The results of this study identified plasminogen activator urokinase receptor (PLAUR) expression as a potential marker to predict the infiltration of macrophages and the status of immune microenvironment in patients with glioma, suggesting that treatment decisions could be based on PLAUR level when administering immunotherapeutics. The soluble PLAUR in blood and other body fluids would make this approach easy to implement in the clinic.