scholarly journals Identification and Validation of a Four-Long Non-coding RNA Signature Associated With Immune Infiltration and Prognosis in Colon Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanbo Wang ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
Fenghai Ren ◽  
Yanjie Chu ◽  
Binbin Cui

The emerging evidence has demonstrated the critical roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as regulators in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). However, the tumor immune infiltration-associated lncRNAs and their clinical significance in colon cancer have not yet been thoroughly investigated. This study performed an integrative analysis of lncRNA expression profiles and immune cell infiltration profiles and identified 258 immune infiltration-associated lncRNAs. Of them, four lncRNAs (AC008494.3, LINC00926, AC022034.1, and SNHG26) were significantly and independently associated with the patient’s overall survival. Finally, we developed a tumor immune infiltration-associated lncRNA signature (TIILncSig) comprising of these four lncRNAs, which can divide colon cancer patients of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) into high-risk and low-risk groups with a significantly different outcome [Hazard ratio (HR) = 2.718, 95% CI = 1.955–3.779, p < 0.001]. Prognostic performance of the TIILncSig was further validated in another independent colon cancer cohort (HR = 1.832, 95% CI = 1.045–3.21, p = 0.034). Results of multivariate Cox regression and stratification analysis demonstrated that the TIILncSig is an independent predictive factor from other clinical features (HR = 2.687, 95% CI = 1.912–3.776, p < 0.001 for TCGA cohort and HR = 1.837, 95% CI = 1.047–3.223, p = 0.034 for GSE17538 cohort). Literature analysis provided experimental evidence supporting roles of the TIILncSig in cancer carcinogenesis and progression and immune regulation. Summary, our study will help to understand the mechanisms of lncRNAs in immune regulation in the tumor microenvironment and provide novel biomarkers or targets for prognosis prediction and therapy decision-making for patients with colon cancer.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quanwei Zhou ◽  
Xuejun Yan ◽  
Weidong Liu ◽  
Wen Yin ◽  
Hongjuan Xu ◽  
...  

Diffuse glioma is one of the most prevalent malignancies of the brain, with high heterogeneity of tumor-infiltrating immune cells. However, immune-associated subtypes of diffuse glioma have not been determined, nor has the effect of different immune-associated subtypes on disease prognosis and immune infiltration of diffuse glioma patients. We retrieved the expression profiles of immune-related genes from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (n = 672) and GSE16011 (n = 268) cohorts and used them to identify subtypes of diffuse glioma via Consensus Cluster Plus analysis. We used the limma, clusterProfiler, ESTIMATE, and survival packages of R for differential analysis, functional enrichment, immune and stromal score evaluation respectively in three subtypes, and performed log-rank tests in immune subtypes of diffuse glioma. The immune-associated features of diffuse glioma in the two cohorts were characterized via bioinformatic analyses of the mRNA expression data of immune-related genes. Three subtypes (C1–3) of diffuse glioma were identified from TCGA data, and were verified using the GSE16011 cohort. We then evaluated their immune characteristics and clinical features. Our mRNA profiling analyses indicated that the different subtypes of diffuse glioma presented differential expression profile of specific genes and signal pathways in the TCGA cohort. Patients with subtype C1, who were mostly diagnosed with grade IV glioma, had poorer outcomes than patients with subtype C2 or C3. Subtype C1 was characterized by a higher degree of immune cell infiltration as estimated by GSVA, and more frequent wildtype IDH1. By contrast, subtype C3 included more grade II and IDH1-mutated glioma, and was associated with more infiltration of CD4+T cells. Most subtype C2 had the features between subtypes C1 and C3. Meanwhile, immune checkpoints and their ligand molecules, including PD1/(PD-L1/PDL2), CTLA4/(CD80/CD86), and B7H3/TLT2, were significantly upregulated in subtype C1 and downregulated in subtype C3. In addition, patients with subtype C1 exhibited more frequent gene mutations. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that diffuse glioma subtype was an effective, independent, and better prognostic factor. Therefore, we established a novel immune-related classification of diffuse glioma, which provides potential immunotherapy targets for diffuse glioma.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Gao ◽  
Fu Li ◽  
Jiao Cai ◽  
Jia Liu ◽  
Xi Zhang ◽  
...  

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly heterogeneous hematological malignancy. The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment in AML plays an important role in leukemogenesis, drug resistance and leukemia relapse. In this study, we aimed to identify reliable immune-related biomarkers for AML prognosis by multiomics analysis. We obtained expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and constructed a LASSO-Cox regression model to predict the prognosis of AML using multiomics bioinformatic analysis data. This was followed by independent validation of the model in the GSE106291 (n=251), GSE12417 (n=163) and GSE37642 (n=137) datasets and mutated genes in clinical samples for predicting overall survival (OS). Molecular docking was performed to predict the most optimal ligands to these hub genes. The single-cell RNA sequence dataset GSE116256 was used to clarify the expression of the hub genes in different immune cell types. According to their significant differences in immune gene signatures and survival trends, we concluded that the immune infiltration-lacking subtype (IL type) is associated with better prognosis than the immune infiltration-rich subtype (IR type). Using the LASSO model, we built a classifier based on 5 hub genes to predict the prognosis of AML (risk score = -0.086×ADAMTS3 + 0.180×CD52 + 0.472×CLCN5 - 0.356×HAL + 0.368×ICAM3). In summary, we constructed a prognostic model of AML using integrated multiomics bioinformatic analysis that could serve as a therapeutic classifier.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhao Zhang ◽  
Jiaxin Zhang ◽  
Fengxian Wei ◽  
Haodong Zhang ◽  
Dongdong Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which carries a very bad prognosis, is a common malignant tumor worldwide. This study aim to identify a pyroptosis-related long non-coding RNA(pyLncRNA) prognostic signature in HCC by integrated bioinformatics analysis. Methods: All expression profiles of HCC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and pyroptosis-related genes were from the GSEA website. After identified differentially expressed pyLncRNAs, univariate Cox regression and Lasso analysis were used to identify a pyroptosis-related LncRNAs prognositic signature(py-LPS). Internal validation was used to validate the prognostic value of the py-LPS via the Kaplan-Meier(K-M) curve and receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. Additional, we established the nomogram and analyzed the correlation between the signature and immune immune infiltration as well as clinical treatment. Result: 7 pyLncRNAs were established the signature for HCC prognosis. K-M curves exhibited the low risk group presented a markedly longer OS than the high. Clinical subgroups analysis based age, gender, grade and stage yielded the similar results. The signature had an independent prognostic value for HCC(p<0.001). Nomogram estimated one-, three- and five-year survival were 0.777, 0.741 and 0.709. Then, gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA) demostrated significant pathways. Futhermore, we found immune cell infiltration and immunotherapy targets was associated with the signature,which could provided clinical recommendations for chemotherapy.Conclusion: In this study, a novel pyroptosis-related LncRNAs porgnostic signature of HCC, correlated with immune infiltration, could predict the survival of HCC patients and give suggestions for clinical treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Wang ◽  
Heng-bo Xia ◽  
Zhang-ming Chen ◽  
Lei Meng ◽  
A-man Xu

Abstract Background The prognosis of colon cancer (CC) is challenging to predict due to its highly heterogeneous nature. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, has roles in various cancers; however, the correlation between ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) and prognosis in CC remains unclear. Methods The expression profiles of FRGs and relevant clinical information were retrieved from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model were performed to build a prognostic model in TCGA cohort. Results Ten FRGs, five of which had mutation rates ≥ 3%, were found to be related to the overall survival (OS) of patients with CC. Patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups based on the results of Cox regression and LASSO analysis. Patients in the low-risk group had a significantly longer survival time than patients in the high-risk group (P < 0.001). Enrichment analyses in different risk groups showed that the altered genes were associated with the extracellular matrix, fatty acid metabolism, and peroxisome. Age, risk score, T stage, N stage, and M stage were independent predictors of patient OS based on the results of Cox analysis. Finally, a nomogram was constructed to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS of patients with CC based on the above five independent factors. Conclusion A novel FRG model can be used for prognostic prediction in CC and may be helpful for individualized treatment.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Yang ◽  
Shuoyang Huang ◽  
Fengyu Cao ◽  
Yongbin Zheng

Abstract Background and aim Lipid metabolic reprogramming is considered to be a new hallmark of malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to explore the expression profiles of lipid metabolism-related genes (LMRG) in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods The lipid metabolism statuses of 500 CRC patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and 523 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO GSE39582) database were analyzed. The risk signature was constructed by univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression. Results A novel four-LMRG signature (PROCA1, CCKBR, CPT2, and FDFT1) was constructed to predict clinical outcomes in CRC patients. The risk signature was shown to be an independent prognostic factor for CRC and was associated with tumour malignancy. Principal components analysis demonstrated that the risk signature could distinguish between low- and high-risk patients. There were significantly differences in abundances of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and mutational landscape between the two risk groups. Patients in the low-risk group were more likely to have higher tumor mutational burden, stem cell characteristics, and higher PD-L1 expression levels. Furthermore, a genomic-clinicopathologic nomogram was established and shown to be a more effective risk stratification tool than any clinical parameter alone. Conclusions This study demonstrated the prognostic value of LMRG and showed that they may be partially involved in the suppressive immune microenvironment formation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bai-Quan Qiu ◽  
Xia-Hui Lin ◽  
Song-Qing Lai ◽  
Feng Lu ◽  
Kun Lin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Lung cancer is one of the most lethal malignant tumors that endangers human health. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has increased dramatically in recent decades, accounting for nearly 40% of all lung cancer cases. Increasing evidence points to the importance of the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) intrinsic mechanism in various human cancers. However, behavioral characteristics of the ceRNA network in lung adenocarcinoma need further study. Methods Groups based on SLC2A1 expression were used in this study to identify associated ceRNA networks and potential prognostic markers in lung adenocarcinoma. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to obtain the patients' lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA expression profiles, as well as clinical data. Informatics techniques were used to investigate the effect of hub genes on prognosis. The Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic effect of hub genes. The methylation, GSEA, and immune infiltration analyses were utilized to explore the potential mechanisms of the hub gene. The CCK-8, transwell, and colony formation assays were performed to detect the proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cells. Results We eventually identified the ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis as an independent fact may promote lung adenocarcinoma progression. Furthermore, methylation analysis revealed that hypo-methylation may cause the dysregulated ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis, and immune infiltration analysis revealed that the ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis may affect the immune microenvironment and the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. The CCK-8, transwell, and colonu formation assays suggested that ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 promotes the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. And hsa-miR-30b-3p reversed the ITGB1/ARNTL2-mediated oncogenic processes. Conclusion Our study identified the ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis as a novel prognostic biomarker affects the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaokun Wang ◽  
Li Pang ◽  
Zuolong Liu ◽  
Xiangwei Meng

Abstract Background The change of immune cell infiltration essentially influences the process of colorectal cancer development. The infiltration of immune cells can be regulated by a variety of genes. Thus, modeling the immune microenvironment of colorectal cancer by analyzing the genes involved can be more conducive to the in-depth understanding of carcinogenesis and the progression thereof. Methods In this study, the number of stromal and immune cells in malignant tumor tissues were first estimated by using expression data (ESTIMATE) and cell-type identification with relative subsets of known RNA transcripts (CIBERSORT) to calculate the proportion of infiltrating immune cell and stromal components of colon cancer samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Then the relationship between the TMN Classification and prognosis of malignant tumors was evaluated. Results By investigating differentially expressed genes using COX regression and protein-protein interaction network (PPI), the candidate hub gene serine protease inhibitor family E member 1 (SERPINE1) was found to be associated with immune cell infiltration. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) further projected the potential pathways with elevated SERPINE1 expression to carcinogenesis and immunity. CIBERSORT was subsequently utilized to investigate the relationship between the expression differences of SERPINE1 and immune cell infiltration and to identify eight immune cells associated with SERPINE1 expression. Conclusion We found that SERPINE1 plays a role in the remodeling of the colon cancer microenvironment and the infiltration of immune cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sihui Yu ◽  
Xi Li ◽  
Jiawen Zhang ◽  
Sufang Wu

Predictive models could indicate the clinical outcome of patients with carcinoma. Cervical cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed female malignancies. Herein, we proposed an immune infiltration-related gene signature that predicts prognosis of patients with cervical cancer and depicts the immune landscape as well. We utilized the transcriptome data of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and estimated the infiltration level of 28 immune cell types. We screened out four immune cell types conducive to patient survival and recognized their shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Four core genes (CHIT1, GTSF1L, PLA2G2D, and GNG8) that composed the ultimate signature were identified via univariate and multivariate Cox regression. The optimal model we built up could distinguish patients with cervical cancer into high-score and low-score subgroups. These two subgroups showed disparity in aspects of patient survival, immune infiltration landscape, and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Additionally, we found that GTSF1L was decreased gradually along with the severity of cervical lesions, and its potential role in immune contexture and clinical practice were also demonstrated. Our results suggested that the Immunoscore based on four immune-related genes could serve as a supplementary criterion to effectively foresee the survival outcome, tumor infiltration status, and immunotherapy efficacy of cervical cancer patients.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingchun Liang ◽  
Fangdie Ye ◽  
Chenyang Xu ◽  
Lujia Zou ◽  
Yun Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The effective treatment and prognosis prediction of bladder cancer (BLCA) remains a medical problem. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death. Ferroptosis is closely related to tumour occurrence and progression, but the prognostic value of ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) in BLCA remains to be further clarified. In this study, we identified an FRG signature with potential prognostic value for patients with BLCA. Methods The corresponding clinical data and mRNA expression profiles of BLCA patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Univariate Cox regression was used to extract FRGs related to survival time, and a Cox regression model was used to construct a multigene signature. Both principal component analysis (PCA) and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) were performed for functional annotation. Results Clinical traits were combined with FRGs, and 15 prognosis-related FRGs were identified by Cox regression. High expression of CISD1, GCLM, CRYAB, SLC7A11, TFRC, ACACA, ZEB1, SQLE, FADS2, ABCC1, G6PD and PGD was related to poor survival in BLCA patients. Multivariate Cox regression was used to construct a prognostic model with 7 FRGs that divided patients into two risk groups. Compared with that in the low-risk group, the overall survival (OS) of patients in the high-risk group was significantly lower (P < 0.001). In multivariate regression analysis, the risk score was shown to be an independent predictor of OS (HR = 1.772, P < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis verified the predictive ability of the model. In addition, the two risk groups displayed different immune statuses in ssGSEA and different distributed patterns in PCA. Conclusion Our research suggests that a new gene model related to ferroptosis can be applied for the prognosis prediction of BLCA. Targeting FRGs may be a treatment option for BLCA.


Author(s):  
Jianlei Zhang ◽  
Jiang Yin ◽  
Liyun Luo ◽  
Danqing Huang ◽  
Dongfeng Zhai ◽  
...  

Glioma is the most common primary brain tumor with poor prognosis and high mortality. The purpose of this study was to use the epigenetic signature to predict prognosis and evaluate the degree of immune infiltration in gliomas. We integrated gene expression profiles and DNA methylation data of lower-grade glioma and glioblastoma to explore epigenetic differences and associated differences in biological function. Cox regression and lasso analysis were used to develop an epigenetic signature based on eight DNA methylation sites to predict prognosis of glioma patients. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the overall survival time of high- and low-risk groups was significantly separated, and ROC analysis verified that the model had great predictive ability. In addition, we constructed a nomogram based on age, sex, 1p/19q status, glioma type, and risk score. The epigenetic signature was obviously associated with tumor purity, immune checkpoints, and tumor-immune infiltrating cells (CD8+ T cells, gamma delta T cells, M0 macrophages, M1 macrophages, M2 macrophages, activated NK cells, monocytes, and activated mast cells) and thus, it may find application as a guide for the evaluation of immune infiltration or in treatment decisions in immunotherapy.


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