Article
Oncology
Qiuxian Zheng, Qin Yang, Jiaming Zhou, Xinyu Gu, Haibo Zhou, Xuejun Dong, Haihong Zhu, Zhi Chen
Summary: The study utilized HCC datasets from TCGA, GEO, and ICGC, and identified four distinct immune subtypes based on 152 immune signatures. These subtypes showed different immune system characteristics and potential immunological biomarkers. The gene-based immune signature classification and indexing may provide new perspectives for HCC immunotherapy management and prognosis prediction.
CANCER CELL INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shiyan Yang, Yajun Cheng, Xiaolong Wang, Ping Wei, Hui Wang, Shanzhong Tan
Summary: This study identified three immune cell infiltration (ICI) patterns in HCC patients, each with distinct immunological features. The high ICI score subtype showed enhanced activation of immune-related signaling pathways and significantly high tumor mutation burden, while the low ICI score subtype exhibited diminished immunocompetence and enrichment of pathways associated with cell cycle and RNA degradation. These results contribute to a better understanding of active tumors and potential reasons for their poor prognosis.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Chubin Luo, Haoyang Xin, Dan Yin, Tongyi Zhao, Zhiqiang Hu, Zhengjun Zhou, Rongqi Sun, Na Yao, Qiman Sun, Jia Fan, Xiaowu Huang, Jian Zhou, Shaolai Zhou
Summary: Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) is a rare liver malignancy with poorly understood tumor immune features. A study on 31 patients with resected sHCC revealed higher expressions of PD-L1 and B7-H3 in sarcomatoid components, along with higher densities of FOXP3(+) and LAG-3(+) cells and lower CD8(+) cell density compared to conventional HCC components. Higher PD-L1 expression in tumor cells correlated with higher densities of CD8(+), PD-1(+), and LAG-3(+) cells, and was associated with poor overall and disease-free survival in sHCC patients. These findings suggest potential therapeutic targets for immunotherapy in sHCC.
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Yu Jiang, Lijuan Lin, Huiming Lv, He Zhang, Lili Jiang, Fenfen Ma, Qiuyue Wang, Xue Ma, Shengjin Yu
Summary: This study systematically analyzed the immune microenvironment and immune cell infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identified three independent immune cell infiltration subtypes with significant survival differences. The study also constructed an immune cell infiltration score model for HCC and identified four genes that accurately predict the subtype based on tumor immune infiltration score. These findings provide theoretical support for accurate immunotherapy strategy in HCC.
MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yanlong Shi, Yizhu Wang, Wenning Zhang, Kaiyi Niu, Xinyu Mao, Kun Feng, Yewei Zhang
Summary: This study revealed the dysregulation of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulators in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their interaction with the immune microenvironment. Through analysis of HCC patients and normal individuals, three clusters based on m6A regulator expression were identified, with the second cluster showing a favorable prognosis. Furthermore, HNRNPC was found to be an independent prognostic factor in HCC and positively correlated with PD-L1 expression. These findings highlight the crucial roles of m6A regulators in HCC prognosis and immune infiltration, and suggest HNRNPC as a potential therapeutic target for immunotherapy response.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Yanan Wang, Boshizhang Peng, Chun Ning, Shuya He, Huayu Yang, Yilei Mao, Lejia Sun
Summary: This study identified mitophagy heterogeneity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its association with immune status and prognosis. Two mitophagy-related subtypes with distinct prognoses, clinical characteristics, immune states, and biological function patterns were identified. The subtype with higher expression of mitophagy-related genes had worse survival outcomes, suppressed immune function, higher immune-checkpoint gene expression, and better response to immunotherapy. A risk model consisting of nine mitophagy-related genes was constructed and its performance was validated in two cohorts.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Yongbiao Huang, Shanshan Huang, Li Ma, Yali Wang, Xi Wang, Lingyan Xiao, Wan Qin, Long Li, Xianglin Yuan
Summary: This study revealed that H2AFY is upregulated in HCC tissues and cells, and high H2AFY expression is an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in HCC patients. Functional network analysis showed that H2AFY and its co-expressed genes regulate cell cycle, mitosis, spliceosome, and chromatin assembly through pathways involving various cancer-related kinases and E2F family. Moreover, significant correlations were observed between H2AFY expression and immune infiltration in HCC. Knockdown of H2AFY suppressed cell proliferation and migration, promoted cell cycle arrest, and induced apoptosis in HCC cells in vitro.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Qianwei Jiang, Jing Kuai, Zhongyi Jiang, Weitao Que, Pusen Wang, Wenxin Huang, Wei Ding, Lin Zhong
Summary: CD93 expression is significantly increased in LIHC and is closely related to patient prognosis. It affects LIHC prognosis partially through immune infiltration.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Jun Hui Xu, Yong Jun Guan, Yi Chao Zhang, Zhen Dong Qiu, Yu Zhou, Chen Chen, Jia Yu, Wei Xing Wang
Summary: ADAM15 is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), linked to poor prognosis, and associated with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. It also affects the expression of immune checkpoint genes. Knockdown of ADAM15 suppresses tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while its overexpression has opposite effects. These findings suggest ADAM15 as a potential biomarker for HCC diagnosis and treatment.
Article
Oncology
Shanshan Liu, Wei Zhao, Xuemei Li, La Zhang, Yu Gao, Qiling Peng, Chengyou Du, Ning Jiang
Summary: AGTRAP was found to be highly expressed in HCC tissues compared to normal liver tissues, associated with higher histological grade and poor overall survival in HCC patients. It showed potential as a diagnostic marker with high sensitivity and specificity in HCC, possibly involving the NF-kappa B and MAPK signaling pathways and correlating with immune cell infiltration and T-cell exhaustion.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Ting Liu, Zhi-zhao Li, Lei Sun, Kun Yang, Jia-min Chen, Xiao-yi Han, Li-ming Qi, Xin-gang Zhou, Peng Wang
Summary: CANT1 is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is associated with clinical features and poor prognosis. It is involved in regulating biological processes such as cell cycle and DNA replication and is independently associated with immune cell infiltration and prognosis in HCC.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Jinlan Huang, Siyi Xu, Zhou Yu, Yansong Zheng, Bin Yang, Qishui Ou
Summary: ATP13A2 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and is associated with prognosis, potentially regulating cell cycle, metastasis, and immune infiltrates.
JOURNAL OF GASTROINTESTINAL SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Haiyuan Li, Lei Gao, Xiaojuan Kang, Xueyan Wang, Yang Yu, Yaqing Zhang, Hao Chen
Summary: This study explored the expression and function of 40S ribosomal protein S24 (RPS24) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Results showed that RPS24 was elevated in HCC samples and related to poor prognosis. Furthermore, RPS24 overexpression or promoter methylation correlated with unfavorable prognosis in HCC patients. High expression of RPS24 was associated with DNA replication, cell cycle, immune infiltration, and immunotherapy response. Experimental validation demonstrated that silencing of RPS24 suppressed HCC cell growth and tumor proliferation. Therefore, RPS24 may serve as a potential adverse biomarker for HCC prognosis, acting through cell proliferation facilitation and the formation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment, and targeting RPS24 could be a promising therapeutic option for HCC management.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Tianhao Cong, Yingen Luo, Yu Liu, Chao Yang, Hongcai Yang, Yujie Li, Jingui Li, Xiao Li
Summary: The relationship between cuproptosis, a novel cell death pathway, and anti-tumor immunity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is explored in this study. By identifying cuproptosis-related immune checkpoint genes (ICGs), a prognostic risk signature is constructed and shown to independently predict overall survival. The study also reveals the robustness of the signature-immune cell infiltration relationship and the potential influence of various pathways on HCC prognosis and immune infiltration.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Dafeng Xu, Yu Wang, Jincai Wu, Yuliang Zhang, Zhehao Liu, Yonghai Chen, Jinfang Zheng
Summary: This study identified 64 common DEIGs enriched in tumor immunologic related signaling pathways and constructed a 5-gene signature risk model to predict the prognosis of HCC patients. Different immune expression characteristics lead to different prognostic outcomes. The model showed better performance compared to existing ones and had strong robustness across different cohorts.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)