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Zhong W, Li Y, Yuan Y, Zhong H, Huang C, Huang J, Lin Y, Huang J. Characterization of Molecular Heterogeneity Associated With Tumor Microenvironment in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma to Aid Immunotherapy. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:736540. [PMID: 34631713 PMCID: PMC8495029 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.736540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer and has strong immunogenicity. A systematically investigation of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in ccRCC could contribute to help clinicians develop personalized treatment and facilitate clinical decision-making. In this study, we analyzed the immune-related subtype of ccRCC on the basis of immune-related gene expression data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, N = 512) and E-MTAB-1980 (N = 101) dataset, respectively. As a result, two subtypes (C1 and C2) were identified by performing non-negative matrix factorization clustering. Subtype C1 was characterized by increased advance ccRCC cases and immune-related pathways. A higher immune score, stromal score, TMB value, Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) prediction score, and immune checkpoint genes expression level were also observed in C1. In addition, the C1 subtype might benefit from chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The patients in subtype C2 had more metabolism-related pathways, higher tumor purity, and a better prognosis. Moreover, some small molecular compounds for the treatment of ccRCC were identified between the two subtypes by using the Connectivity Map (CMap) database. Finally, we constructed and validated an immune-related (IR) score to evaluate immune modification individually. A high IR score corresponded to a favorable prognosis compared to a low IR score, while more advanced tumor stage and grade cases were enriched in the low IR score group. The two IR score groups also showed a distinct divergence among immune status, TME, and chemotherapy. The external validation dataset (E-MTAB-1980) and another immunotherapy cohort (IMvigor 210) demonstrated that patients in the high IR score group had a significantly prolonged survival time and clinical benefits compared to the low IR score group. Together, characterization of molecular heterogeneity and IR signature may help develop new insights into the TME of ccRCC and provide new strategies for personalized treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yinan Li
- Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yichu Yuan
- Department of Urology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongbin Zhong
- The Fifth Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen, China
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | | | - Jiwei Huang
- Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yao Lin
- Central Laboratory at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Traditional Chinese Medical University, Collaborative Innovation Center for Rehabilitation Technology, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jiyi Huang
- The Fifth Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen, China
- Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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Gao X, Yang J, Chen Y. Identification of a four immune-related genes signature based on an immunogenomic landscape analysis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. J Cell Physiol 2020; 235:9834-9850. [PMID: 32452055 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.29796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Renal clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common type of renal cell carcinoma, which has strong immunogenicity. A comprehensive study of the role of immune-related genes (IRGs) in ccRCC is of great significance in finding ccRCC treatment targets and improving patient prognosis. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the expression of IRGs in ccRCC based on The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. The mechanism of differentially expressed IRGs in ccRCC was analyzed by bioinformatics. In addition, Cox regression analysis was used to screen prognostic related IRGs from differentially expressed IRGs. We also identified a four IRGs signature consisting of four IRGs (CXCL2, SEMA3G, PDGFD, and UCN) through lasso regression and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Further analysis results showed that the four IRGs signature could effectively predict the prognosis of patients with ccRCC, and its predictive power is independent of other clinical factors. In addition, the correlation analysis of immune cell infiltration showed that this four IRGs signature could effectively reflect the level of immune cell infiltration of ccRCC. We also found that the expression of immune checkpoint genes CTLA-4, LAG3, and PD-1 in the high-risk group was higher than that in the low-risk group. Our research revealed the role of IRGs in ccRCC, and developed a four IRGs signature that could be used to evaluate the prognosis of patients with ccRCC, which will help to develop personalized treatment strategies for patients with ccRCC and improve their prognosis. In addition, these four IRGs may be effective therapeutic targets for ccRCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Gao
- Clinical Laboratory, The First People's Hospital of Huaihua, Huaihua, Hunan, China
| | - Jinlian Yang
- Clinical Laboratory, The First People's Hospital of Huaihua, Huaihua, Hunan, China
| | - Yinyi Chen
- Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
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