Fig. 3. PPP1R15B is associated with unfavorable patient survival outcomes.

a, b Immunofluorescence analysis of PPP1R15B expression in CD138+ plasma cells from healthy donors (n = 3), MGUS (n = 3) and MM patients (n = 10). Representative images are displayed (a), with the additional samples presented in Supplementary Fig. 6a. Cells were stained for CD138 (red) and PPP1R15B (green), with nuclei counterstain (blue). Immunofluorescence intensity of PPP1R15B protein was quantified (b). Each data point represents the average fluorescence intensity of PPP1R15B in a minimum of 50 cells per donor/patient. One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test was performed (p values in NPC vs MGUS = 0.57, NPC vs MM = 0.0027, MGUS vs MM = 0.029). Scale bar: 50 µm. Data are presented as mean ± SD. c Kaplan-Meier survival curves depicting the association of PPP1R15B expression with MM patient overall and progression-free survival based on CoMMpass dataset (n = 958)⁴⁰. Patients were categorized into groups based on PPP1R15B expression (TPM): top 25% (T25), middle 50% (M50), and bottom 25% (B25). The hazard ratio, along with its confidence interval and log-rank p values, derived from the univariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, are presented. MGUS monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, SMM smoldering multiple myeloma, HR, hazard ratio. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.