Clinicopathological signature and prognostic value of RNA:m5C methyltransferases in gliomas
Abstract Background: Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor, accounting for the vast majority of intracranial malignant tumors. Aberrant expression of RNA:5-methylcytosine(m5C) methyltransferases has recently been the focus of research relating to the occurrence and progression of tumors. However, the prognostic value of RNA:m5C methyltransferases in glioma remains unclear. This study investigated RNA: m5C methyltransferase expression and defined its clinicopathological signature and prognostic value in gliomas. Methods: We systematically studied the RNA-sequence data of RNA:m5C methyltransferases underlying gliomas in the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets and identified different subtypes using Consensus clustering analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Gene Set Enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to annotate the function of these genes. Univariate Cox regression and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression algorithm analyses were performed to construct the risk score model. Kaplan-Meier method and Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the overall survival of glioma patients. Additionally, Cox proportional regression model analysis was developed to address the connections between the risk scores and clinical factors. Results: Consensus clustering of RNA:m5C methyltransferases identified three clusters of gliomas with different prognostic and clinicopathological features. Meanwhile, Functional annotations demonstrated that RNA:m5C methyltransferases were significantly associated with the malignant progression of gliomas. Thereafter, five RNA:m5C methyltransferase genes were screened to construct a risk score model which can be used to predict not only overall survival but also clinicopathological features in gliomas. ROC curves revealed the significant prognostic ability of this signature. In addition, Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor for glioma outcome. Conclusion: We demonstrated the role of RNA:m5C methyltransferases in the initiation and progression of glioma. We have expanded on the understanding of the molecular mechanism involved, and provided a unique approach to predictive biomarkers and targeted therapy.