谷胱甘肽转移酶ω1基于酶活位点调控波形蛋白表达并促进肺腺癌恶性进展

摘要 目的：探究谷胱甘肽转移酶ω1（Glutathione S-Transferase Omega 1, GSTO1）关键酶活位点Cys32与肺腺癌恶性进展的关系与初步作用机制。方法：构建GSTO1野生型与酶活失活点突变C32A型过表达的肺腺癌细胞系,观察过表达细胞的形态变化及增殖能力的变化。以临床数据生物信息学分析探究GSTO1调控的促肿瘤蛋白,使用免疫印迹法验证该蛋白在GSTO1野生型与酶活失活点突变C32A型过表达的肺腺癌细胞系中的表达差异,并结合临床公共数据库分析该蛋白与患者预后的关联。结果：发现过表达野生型GSTO1能够引起肺腺癌细胞PC9的形态变化并促进PC9细胞增殖,而过表达C32A突变型GSTO1的PC9细胞与空载体组细胞形态及增殖能力相似;临床数据提示GSTO1与波形蛋白（Vimentin, VIM）表达呈现正相关,免疫印迹法显示野生型GSTO1过表达能够引起Vimentin蛋白表达上调,而C32A酶活失活点突变型GSTO1过表达无法引起Vimentin蛋白表达上调;通过临床样本数据观察GSTO1与Vimentin共同高表达的肺腺癌患者肿瘤恶性程度更高、发生转移的比例更大,同时无病生存期与总生存期更短。结论：GSTO1基于其酶活位点调控Vimentin表达,改变肺腺癌细胞形态并促进肺腺癌细胞增殖,研究结果为靶向GSTO1的肺腺癌治疗提供了新思路。     

磷酸丝氨酸氨基转移酶1介导肺腺癌细胞粘附及其机制探究

摘要 目的：探究丝氨酸生物合成途径（SSP）关键酶磷酸丝氨酸氨基转移酶1（PSAT1）与肺腺癌细胞粘附的关系，并初步探讨其作用机制。方法：使用siRNA抑制PSAT1蛋白表达，观察肺腺癌细胞形态以及粘附变化，同时过表达PSAT1，反向观察PSAT1对肺腺癌细胞粘附的影响。初步探究其作用机制，采用免疫共沉淀-蛋白质谱法寻找与PSAT1直接相互作用的蛋白，筛选差异蛋白，并在过表达细胞体系中验证。结合临床公共数据库分析互作蛋白与患者预后关系。结果：发现敲低PSAT1引起肺腺癌细胞形态改变；敲低PSAT1抑制肺腺癌PC9、HCC827细胞粘附；过表达PSAT1增强PC9及HCC827细胞粘附；免疫共沉淀-蛋白质谱检测到2560个可能与PSAT1结合的蛋白，进一步通过免疫共沉淀-免疫印迹法验证PSAT1过表达使细胞中与间皮素（MSLN）结合显著上升；通过临床样本数据观察PSAT1与MSLN共同高表达的肺腺癌患者，其预后更差。结论：本文首次报道PSAT1可能通过与MSLN等蛋白-蛋白相互作用影响肺腺癌细胞粘附的新机制，提示PSAT1有望成为潜在抗肿瘤靶点，靶向其相互作用蛋白能为小分子抑制剂设计及患者个体化治疗提供新思路。     

胸腔积液中肺腺癌细胞EGFR突变状态与DNA含量的相关性

摘要 目的：探究胸腔积液中肺腺癌细胞表皮生长因子受体（epidermalgrowthfactorreceptor,EGFR）突变状态与DNA含量的相关性,以期探究EGFR突变状态是否同肿瘤的恶性程度存在一定关联。方法：选择2015年1月至2020年1月于我院接受EGFR基因检测以及基因定量分析的591例肺腺癌患者为研究对象,按照其是否出现EGFR基因突变将其分为突变组（335例）与非突变组（256例）,两组患者的胸腔积液均使用激光图像细胞仪开展DNA含量以及非整倍体峰检测,并开展组间差异性比较。结果：（1）将591例患者按照年龄、性别及是否吸烟等临床特征进行分组对比显示,性别（P=0.034）与吸烟（P=0.007）同肺腺癌患者胸腔积液细胞出现EGFR突变具有一定关联,而年龄因素与是否出现突变无明显相关性（P>0.05）;（2）突变组患者的最大DNA指数（DI）、大于5C细胞的平均DI以及大于9C细胞的平均DI均明显高于非突变组,组间差异明显（P<0.05）;（3）开展DNA非整倍体细胞峰比较显示突变组在单峰、双峰占比中明显高于非突变组,而无峰占比明显低于非突变组（P<0.05）,多峰占比方面两组差异不大（P>0.05）。结论：经研究显示,同未出现EGFR突变的肺腺癌患者相比较,发生EGFR突变的肺腺癌患者明显DI值更高,非整倍体细胞以及非整倍体峰值也呈现异常升高态,这提示EGFR发生突变的肺腺癌患者恶变洗吧的侵袭性更强。     

LAMB3在头颈鳞癌中的表达及预后价值分析

摘要 目的：研究层黏连蛋白亚基β3（LAMB3）在头颈鳞癌（HNSCC）中的表达、预后价值、免疫相关性及作用机制。方法：利用基于癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）的多个在线数据库,分析LAMB3在HNSCC肿瘤组织中的差异表达、预后价值以及对免疫细胞浸润的影响;通过基因共表达及蛋白-蛋白相互作用网络分析,探究LAMB3参与HNSCC的生物过程以及相关信号通路;预测调控LAMB3基因的上游靶miRNA。结果：LAMB3在HNSCC中高表达,LAMB3表达水平与年龄分布、肿瘤病理分级、淋巴结转移状态和HPV病毒感染状态相关;预后分析显示LAMB3在HNSCC中高表达预示患者不良预后,在肿瘤分期为Stage3、白色人种、肿瘤病理分期为Grade1和Grade2以及肿瘤新生抗原高表达HNSCC患者中总生存期更短;LAMB3表达水平影响HNSCC肿瘤微环境,LAMB3高表达能够降低B细胞、CD8⁺T 细胞浸润程度,升高CD4⁺T细胞浸润程度;基因共表达和功能相关分析表明,LAMB3高表达与基底膜形成、细胞连接、细胞迁移等生物过程有关;LAMB3潜在靶miRNA是hsa-miR-24-3p。结论：LAMB3在 HNSCC中高表达与免疫细胞浸润和患者不良预后相关,可作为HNSCC发病风险和预后指标。     

吉非替尼联合PC化疗方案对表皮生长因子受体突变阳性晚期肺腺癌患者免疫功能、凋亡因子和肿瘤标志物的影响

摘要 目的：探讨吉非替尼联合铂类加环磷酰胺（PC）化疗方案对表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）突变阳性晚期肺腺癌患者免疫功能、凋亡因子和肿瘤标志物的影响。方法：选取南通大学附属肿瘤医院2018年3月~2020年3月期间收治的92例EGFR阳性晚期肺腺癌患者,根据随机数字表法分为对照组（PC化疗）和实验组（吉非替尼联合PC化疗）,各为46例。观察两组疗效、肿瘤标志物、免疫功能、凋亡因子变化情况、肿瘤无进展生存时间（PFS）、总生存时间（OS）和不良反应发生率。结果：实验组的客观缓解率、疾病控制率均高于对照组（P<0.05）。两组治疗后血清癌胚抗原（CEA）、细胞角蛋白-19片段（CYFRA21-1）、鳞状细胞癌抗原（SCC-Ag）水平较治疗前均下降,且实验组较对照组低（P<0.05）。治疗后两组CD8⁺升高,但实验组较对照组低;而治疗后CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/CD8⁺均下降,但实验组较对照组高（P<0.05）。两组治疗后血清Livin水平较治疗前下降,且实验组低于对照组（P<0.05）,两组治疗后血清PDCD5、P53、Bax水平较治疗前均升高,且实验组均高于对照组（P<0.05）。两组不良反应发生率组间对比无明显差异（P>0.05）。实验组的PFS、OS高于对照组（P<0.05）。结论：吉非替尼联合PC化疗方案治疗EGFR突变阳性晚期肺腺癌患者,可调节血清凋亡因子和肿瘤标志物水平,有效改善患者的免疫功能和预后。     

CD39的临床意义及其与肝癌浸润T细胞耗竭的相关性分析

摘要 目的：探索CD39分子（编码基因ENTPD1）在原发性肝细胞肝癌（Hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC）中的表达、临床意义及其与HCC中免疫浸润和T细胞耗竭的相关性。方法：TIMER、GEPIA、Kaplan-Meier Plotter、TCGA等数据库分析CD39在肝癌中的差异性表达、与免疫浸润的关系、相关基因的表达及其与肝癌患者预后的关系。免疫荧光染色、细胞测序和流式检测验证临床HCC患者的癌及癌旁组织中CD39的差异性表达及其和CD8⁺T细胞耗竭特性的相关性。结果：（1）生物信息学分析结果显示：CD39在多种肿瘤组织中表达上调（包括HCC）（P＜0.05）；且其表达水平与HCC的临床预后等显著相关（P＜0.05）；与CD39低表达组相比，HCC中CD39高表达组患者无复发生存期（relapse-free survival, RFS）（P=0.025）和无进展生存期（progression-free survival, PFS）（P=0.026）较短；CD39与HCC肿瘤微环境中CD8⁺T、CD4⁺T、巨噬细胞等免疫细胞浸润水平均有明显正相关。（2）临床HCC样本验证：免疫荧光和流式结果显示CD39在癌组织中的表达水平高于癌旁正常组织，与耗竭相关分子LAYN、TIM3、CTLA4等共表达，且在耗竭CD8⁺T细胞中表达比例显著高于非耗竭细胞。结论：CD39在HCC肿瘤组织及浸润的CD8⁺T细胞中高表达，与HCC的RFS、PFS、免疫细胞浸润等紧密相关，且参与CD8⁺T细胞耗竭。     

BMI1基因下调使宫颈癌和子宫内膜癌对紫杉醇敏感

目的 研究B细胞特异性莫洛尼鼠白血病病毒插入位点1（BMI1）基因对宫颈癌及子宫内膜癌增殖浸润及紫杉醇耐受的影响及其机制。方法 首先利用Cbioportal、TCGA和CPTAC数据库分析BMI1基因在宫颈癌和子宫内膜癌中的突变及表达情况。接着对人宫颈癌组织样本和人子宫内膜癌组织样本中BMI1的蛋白质表达水平进行免疫组化分析。采用蛋白质印迹法（Western blot)检测BMI1敲低后宫颈癌及子宫内膜癌细胞中BMI1下游调控因子的蛋白质水平变化。此外,通过细胞功能实验研究了BMI1在宫颈癌HeLa及子宫内膜癌HEC-1-A细胞中的功能。最后,通过实验评估siBMI1联合紫杉醇治疗的协同抗生长作用。结果 数据库分析结果显示,BMI1在1.5%的子宫颈癌患者及1.9%的子宫内膜癌的患者中存在不同程度的扩增、错义及剪接突变。此外,高mRNA水平的BMI1与宫颈癌的病理类型相关,且高蛋白质水平的BMI1与子宫内膜癌的病理类型和肿瘤分级及较低的生存率相关。进一步的免疫组化分析发现,与正常组织相比,宫颈癌和子宫内膜癌组织中BMI1蛋白水平表达升高,且与肿瘤的病理分化及浸润深度相关。药物敏感性实验显示,BMI1过表达导致HeLa及HEC-1-A细胞对多种抗癌药物的敏感性下降,其中包括紫杉醇。为了进一步分析BMI1与紫杉醇耐受的关系,通过Western blot检测BMI1敲除后HeLa及HEC-1-A细胞中BMI1下游因子的蛋白质水平变化。结果显示,抗凋亡相关蛋白Bcl-2随着BMI1的敲低而表达水平下降,而促凋亡相关蛋白BAX则显著升高。此外,细胞功能实验结果显示,体外过表达BMI1可促进HeLa及HEC-1-A细胞的增殖和迁移,且BMI1低表达的HeLa及HEC-1-A细胞对紫杉醇更敏感。结论 BMI1在宫颈癌和子宫内膜癌患者的肿瘤组织中过表达,BMI1的下调通过调控凋亡通路使CC和EC细胞对紫杉醇更加敏感。     

TFCP2L1在子宫内膜癌细胞增殖及侵袭中的作用

摘要 目的：研究人子宫内膜癌中TFCP2L1的表达情况以及分析TFCP2L1对子宫内膜癌细胞增殖及迁移能力的影响。方法：（1）通过TCGA 及GTEx数据库分析子宫内膜癌中TFCP2L1的表达水平及患者生存期。采用Western blot验证正常子宫内膜上皮细胞与多种子宫内膜癌细胞系中TFCP2L1的表达情况。（2）使用CRISPR-Cas9技术敲除Ishikawa细胞系的TFCP2L1,并用流式分选技术筛选单个细胞进行培养,形成单克隆细胞系,以此来研究TFCP2L1对子宫内膜癌的细胞周期和细胞增殖的影响。通过 Western blot 及细胞免疫荧光检测细胞周期相关蛋白的表达,检测细胞增殖情况,采用平板克隆实验及CCK8实验。（3）通过Transwell小室及划痕实验对侵袭和转移能力进行检测。结果：TCGA 及GTEx数据库分析发现TFCP2L1在子宫内膜癌中高表达且与肿瘤患者预后不良相关。敲除TFCP2L1后,Ki67、Cyclin D1 和 Cyclin D2的蛋白水平显著下调,CCK8及平板克隆实验结果表明,敲除TFCP2L1能够显著降低子宫内膜癌细胞的增殖能力。划痕实验及Transwell侵袭实验结果表明敲除TFCP2L1的子宫内膜癌细胞侵袭迁移能力均减弱。结论：本研究证明了TFCP21L1是子宫内膜癌的促癌因子。TFCP2L1的高表达可能与子宫内膜癌预后不良相关。敲除TFCP2L1可以抑制子宫内膜癌的侵袭和转移。     

SIRT7琥珀酰化修饰对肝癌生存、免疫浸润及预后的相关性分析

摘要 目的：探究SIRT7基因琥珀酰化修饰对肝癌患者的生存、免疫浸润及预后的相关性分析。方法：采用生物信息分析法对SIRT7在肝癌组织中的表达情况及其对肝癌患者预后的影响进行分析；采用蛋白免疫印迹法（Western blot）检测其转染效果。结果：（1）生物信息分析结果显示：SIRT7在多种肿瘤（包括肝癌）组织中呈高表达（P<0.05）；SIRT7的表达与肿瘤的生存曲线相关（P<0.05）；肝癌患者的SIRT7相对表达量与其预后相关，高表达组肝癌患者的总生存情况（P=0.017）和无进展生存情况较低表达组缩短（P=0.004）；免疫浸润和肿瘤微环境分析结果显示，SIRT7表达水平与多数免疫细胞浸润水平、肿瘤微环境(ESTIMATES core)均有明显负相关。（2）Western blot显示，SIRT7在肝癌细胞中表达高于正常细胞。因此，SIRT7 可作为肝癌的潜在预后标志物。结论：SIRT7表达水平与肝癌(HCC)患者的预后、免疫细胞浸润性、肿瘤微环境免疫细胞和基质细胞浸润等相关。     

KANK1对子宫内膜癌细胞增殖及迁移的影响

摘要 目的：研究KANK1在子宫内膜癌中的表达以及对子宫内膜癌细胞增殖及迁移的影响。方法：（1）TCGA数据库分析KANK1在子宫内膜癌中的表达和生存期分析。（2）采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应验证转染KANK1质粒的效果。采用Ishikawa和ECC1这两种子宫内膜癌细胞来探讨KANK1对子宫内膜癌的细胞周期和凋亡的影响。通过Western blot检测细胞周期相关蛋白的表达,以及流式细胞术检测细胞周期和凋亡水平。（3）通过Transwell小室实验和划痕实验检测细胞的侵袭和转移能力。结果：TCGA数据库分析发现KANK1在子宫内膜癌中低表达且与患者预后良好相关。过表达KANK1下调了Cyclin D1和Cyclin D2的蛋白水平,并将细胞周期阻滞在G1期。流式细胞术检测发现过表达KANK1组的细胞凋亡水平（Ishikawa：22.7%;ECC1：19.0%）比对照组（Ishikawa：18.1%;ECC1：15.3%）高,差异具有统计学意义。Transwell迁移和侵袭实验结果表明过表达KANK1组的子宫内膜癌细胞侵袭和转移能力减弱。结论：本研究证明了KANK1在子宫内膜癌中发挥抑癌作用。KANK1高表达与子宫内膜癌的预后良好成正相关。KANK1通过抑制癌细胞周期和促进肿瘤细胞凋亡发挥抑制子宫内膜癌增殖的作用。此外,KANK1抑制了子宫内膜癌的侵袭和转移。     

INHA acts as a novel and potential biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma and shapes the immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment

BackgroundINHA expression has been correlated with the development, growth, and progression of multiple cancer types. However, the biological role of INHA has not been investigated in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Here, we performed a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the LUAD dataset to determine the mechanisms underlying the regulation of tumorigenesis by INHA.Materials and methodsINHA expression and clinical information of patients with LUAD were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Protein levels in LUAD cell lines and human lung epithelial cells were examined by western blotting. Next, the prognostic value of INHA in LUAD was assessed using Cox regression analysis, while the potential biological functions and the impact on the immune microenvironment of INHA were investigated using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and single sample GSEA (ssGSEA). Finally, the effect of INHA on LUAD cell proliferation and invasion was determined in vitro and in vivo.ResultsWe found significantly high mRNA and protein expression levels of INHA in LUAD tissues and cell lines. Additionally, a higher expression of INHA was linked to a shorter overall survival (OS) and a worse pathological stage, while INHA expression was associated with immune cell infiltration and immune-related markers in the LUAD tumor microenvironment. LUAD with high INHA expression tends to be a cold tumor. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that INHA-related genes were enriched in the cell adhesion and immune signaling pathways of LUAD. INHA promoted LUAD cell proliferation and invasion, in vitro and in vivo, by inducing the EGFR pathway.ConclusionOur findings revealed that INHA is overexpressed in LUAD and is linked to a poor prognosis. Our study demonstrates the potential of INHA as an immunotherapeutic and predictive biomarker in LUAD.     

Prognostic value of metabolic genes in lung adenocarcinoma via integrative analyses

BackgroundLung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common malignant lung tumor. Metabolic pathway reprogramming is an important hallmark of physiologic changes in cancers. However, the mechanisms through which these metabolic genes and pathways function in LUAD as well as their prognostic values have not been fully established.MethodsFour publicly available datasets from GEO and TCGA were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in LUAD, which were then subjected to GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Associations between metabolic gene expressions with overall survival, tumor stage, TP53 mutation status, and infiltrated immune cells were investigated. Protein-protein interactions were evaluated using GeneMANIA and Metascape.ResultsBy integrating four public datasets, 247 DEGs were identified in LUAD. These DEGs were significantly enriched in regulation of chromosome segregation, centromeric region, and histone kinase activity GO terms, as well as in cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, metabolic pathways, and other KEGG pathways. Elevated expressions of ten metabolic genes in LUAD were significantly associated with poor survival outcomes. These metabolic genes were highly expressed in more advanced tumor stage and TP53 mutated patients. Moreover, expression levels were significantly correlated with tumor-infiltrating immune cells. PPI interaction analysis revealed that the top 20 genes interacting with each metabolic gene were significantly enriched in DNA replication, response to radiation, and central carbon metabolism in cancer.ConclusionThis study elucidates on molecular changes in metabolic genes in LUAD, which may inform the development of genetically oriented diagnostic approaches and effective treatment options.     

Clinical and prognostic implications of an immune‐related risk model based on TP53 status in lung adenocarcinoma

TP53 mutation is the most widespread mutation in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Meanwhile, p53 (encoded by TP53) has recently been implicated in immune responses. However, it is still unknown whether TP53 mutation remodels the tumour microenvironment to influence tumour progression and prognosis in LUAD. In this study, we developed a 6‐gene immune‐related risk model (IRM) to predict the survival of patients with LUAD in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort based on TP53 status, and the predictive ability was confirmed in 2 independent cohorts. TP53 mutation led to a decreased immune response in LUAD. Further analysis revealed that patients in the high‐index group had observably lower relative infiltration of memory B cells and regulatory T cells and significantly higher relative infiltration of neutrophils and resting memory CD4⁺ T cells. Additionally, the IRM index positively correlated with the expression of critical immune checkpoint genes, including PDCD1 (encoding PD‐1) and CD274 (encoding PD‐L1), which was validated in the Nanjing cohort. Furthermore, as an independent prognostic factor, the IRM index was used to establish a nomogram for clinical application. In conclusion, this IRM may serve as a powerful prognostic tool to further optimize LUAD immunotherapy.     

Single-cell sequencing analysis and transcriptome analysis constructed the macrophage related gene-related signature in lung adenocarcinoma and verified by an independent cohort

BackgroundRecent studies have emphasized the close relationship between macrophages and tumor immunity, and the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients is intimately linked to this. Nonetheless, the prognostic signature and classification of different immune patterns in LUAD patients based on the macrophages is largely unexplored.MethodsTwo sc-RNAseq datasets of LUAD patients were collected and reprocessed. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to macrophages between LUAD tissues and normal lung tissues were then identified. Based upon the above genes, three distinct immune patterns in the TCGA-LUAD cohort were identified. The ssGSEA and CIBERSORT were applied for immune profiling and characterization of different subtypes. A four-gene prognostic signature for LUAD patients was established based on the DEGs between the subtypes using stepwise multi-Cox regression. TCGA-LUAD cohort was used as training set. Five GEO-LUAD datasets and an independent cohort containing 112 LUAD samples were used for validation. TIDE (tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion) and drug sensitivity analyses were also performed.ResultsMacrophage-related differentially expressed genes were found out using the publicly available scRNA-seq data of LUAD. Three different immune patterns which were proved to have distinct immune infiltration characteristics in the TCGA-LUAD cohort were recognized based on the above macrophage-related genes. Thereafter, 174 DEGs among the above three different immune patterns were figured out; on the basis of this, a four-gene prognostic signature was constructed. This signature distinguished the prognosis of LUAD patients well in various GSE datasets as well as our independent cohort. Further analyses revealed that patients which had a higher risk score also accompanied with a lower immune infiltration level and a worse response to several immunotherapy biomarkers.ConclusionThis study highlighted that macrophage were significantly associated with TME diversity and complexity. The four-gene prognostic signature could be used for predicting outcomes and immune landscapes for patients with LUAD.     

Typical tumor immune microenvironment status determine prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma

BackgroundImmune cells, vital components of tumor microenvironment, regulate tumor survival and progression. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the tumor with the highest mortality rate worldwide, reconstitutes tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) to avoid immune destruction. Data have shown that TIME influences LUAD prognosis and predicts immunotherapeutic efficacy. The related information about the role of TIME's characteristics in LUAD is limited.MethodsWe performed unsupervised consensus clustering via machine-learning techniques to identify TIME clusters among 1906 patients and gathered survival data. The characteristics of TIME clusters of LUAD were visualized by multi-omics analysis, pseudo-time dynamic analysis, and enrichment analysis. TIME score model was constructed by principal component analysis. Comprehensive analysis and validation were conducted to test the prognostic efficacy and immunotherapeutic response of TIME score.ResultsTIME clusters (A, B and C) were constructed and exhibited different immune infiltration states. Multi-omics analyses included significant mutated genes (SMG), copy number variation (CNV) and cancer stemness that were significantly different among the three clusters. TIME cluster A had a lower SMG, lower CNV, and lower stemness but a higher immune infiltration level compared to TIME clusters B and C. TIME score showed that patients in low TIME score group had higher overall survival rates, higher immune infiltration level and high expression of immune checkpoints. In validation cohorts, low TIME score subgroup had better drug sensitivity and favorable immunotherapeutic response.ConclusionWe constructed a stable model of LUAD immune microenvironment characteristics that may improve the prognostic accuracy of patients, provide improved explanations of LUAD responses to immunotherapy, and provide new strategies for LUAD treatment.     

Integrative pan cancer analysis reveals the importance of CFTR in lung adenocarcinoma prognosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutations have been shown to be associated with the risk of a variety of cancers. However, the clinical significance of aberrant CFTR gene expression in human tumors remains unknown. The expression profiles and prognostic landscapes of CFTR in human cancers were identified from the PubMed, OVID, CNKI, TCGA, ONCOMINE, PrognoScan, and GEPIA databases. Over 11, 000 cancer samples from the literature, GEPIA database, and PrognoScan database were included in this study. In general, CFTR has various expression and prognostic profiles in cancers, but the results from cross-database and meta-analyses revealed that CFTR is a robust biomarker for LUAD prognosis. Collectively, this study suggests that CFTR is an important prognostic biomarker for LUAD survival, implying that it could be used as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for LUAD.     

Profiles of immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma and their clinical significant: A gene-expression–based retrospective study

Lung cancer is one of the fatal tumors. The tumor microenvironment plays a key role in regulating tumor progression. To figure out the role of tumor microenvironment in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), ESTIMATE algorithm was used to evaluate the immune scores in LUAD. Patients with low immune scores had a worse overall survival (OS) compared with high immune scores. Using RNA-Seq data of 489 patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between high- and low-immune score groups. Based on the DEGs, nine-gene signature was constructed by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression model in TCGA set. The signature demonstrated significant prognostic value in both TCGA and Gene Expression Omnibus database. Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that nine-genes signature was an independent prognostic factor. Subgroup analysis also revealed a robust prognostic ability of nine-gene signature. A nomogram with a C-index of 0.722 had a favorable power for predicting 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival for clinical use by integrating nine-gene signature and other clinical features. Co-expression and functional enrichment analysis showed that nine-gene signature was significantly associated with immune response and provided potential profound molecules for revealing the mechanism of tumor initiation and progression. In conclusion, we revealed the significance of immune infiltration and built a novel nine-gene signature as a reliable prognostic factor for patients with LUAD.