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. 2024 Mar 30;14(1):7543.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-57910-5.

Identification of molecular subtypes and a prognostic signature based on m6A/m5C/m1A-related genes in lung adenocarcinoma

Affiliations

Identification of molecular subtypes and a prognostic signature based on m6A/m5C/m1A-related genes in lung adenocarcinoma

Yu Zhang et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Lung cancer, specifically the histological subtype lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), has the highest global occurrence and fatality rate. Extensive research has indicated that RNA alterations encompassing m6A, m5C, and m1A contribute actively to tumorigenesis, drug resistance, and immunotherapy responses in LUAD. Nevertheless, the absence of a dependable predictive model based on m6A/m5C/m1A-associated genes hinders accurately predicting the prognosis of patients diagnosed with LUAD. In this study, we collected patient data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and identified genes related to m6A/m5C/m1A modifications using the GeneCards database. The "ConsensusClusterPlus" R package was used to produce molecular subtypes by utilizing genes relevant to m6A/m5C/m1A identified through differential expression and univariate Cox analyses. An independent prognostic factor was identified by constructing a prognostic signature comprising six genes (SNHG12, PABPC1, IGF2BP1, FOXM1, CBFA2T3, and CASC8). Poor overall survival and elevated expression of human leukocyte antigens and immune checkpoints were correlated with higher risk scores. We examined the associations between the sets of genes regulated by m6A/m5C/m1A and the risk model, as well as the immune cell infiltration, using algorithms such as ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, TIMER, ssGSEA, and exclusion (TIDE). Moreover, we compared tumor stemness indices (TSIs) by considering the molecular subtypes related to m6A/m5C/m1A and risk signatures. Analyses were performed based on the risk signature, including stratification, somatic mutation analysis, nomogram construction, chemotherapeutic response prediction, and small-molecule drug prediction. In summary, we developed a prognostic signature consisting of six genes that have the potential for prognostication in patients with LUAD and the design of personalized treatments that could provide new versions of personalized management for these patients.

Keywords: Lung adenocarcinoma; Molecule subtypes; Signature; m1A; m5C; m6A.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Volcano plot of 69 DE-MRGs in LUAD. Red dots represent upregulated genes, and blue dots represent downregulated genes. (B) Heatmap of 69 DE-MRGs between normal lung and LUAD tissues. (C) The top ten enriched terms in GO analysis for DE-MRGs. (D) The top ten enriched terms in KEGG analysis. (E) The correlations between the top 10 up-regulated and top 10 down-regulated DE-MRGs. (F) PPI network of the DE-MRGs according to the STRING database. (G) The top ten hub genes are identified in the PPI network using the “CytoHubba” plugin in Cytoscape. The darker the color, the darker the node degree value. (H, I) The two most significant modules are identified from the PPI network using the “MCODE” plugin in Cytoscape. (H, I) The hub genes are obtained from the “CytoHubba” plugin in Cytoscape. LUAD, lung adenocarcinoma; DE-MRGs, differentially expressed m6A/m5C/m1A-related genes; GO, gene ontology; BP, biological process; CC, cell component; MF, molecular function; KEGG, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; PPI, protein–protein interaction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Forest plot showing nine prognosis-related DE-MRGs selected by univariate Cox regression analysis. (B) Correlations between the nine genes. (C) Consensus clustering matrix, when k = 2. (D) Consensus clustering CDF with k-values of 2–9. (E) Relative change in the area under the CDF curve for k = 2. (F) KM curve showing the overall survival in patients between clusters 1 and 2. Immune cell infiltration using CIBERSORT (G), the expression of MHC molecules (H), immune and stromal scores using ESTIMATE (I), angiogenic activity, mesenchymal-EMT, tumorigenic cytokines and stemness scores (J), five common immunoinhibitors (K), and TIDE scores (L) between the two clusters. CDF, cumulative distribution function; KM, Kaplan–Meier; EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal-transition; TIDE, Tumor Immune Dysfunction, and Exclusion. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Forest plot showing six genes selected in the signature through multivariate Cox analysis. (B) Coefficients of the four genes included in the signature. (C) Correlations between the signature and the six genes. KM survival analysis, heatmap, survival status accompanied with the risk score, and ROC analysis in the TCGA cohort (D) and GSE37745 cohort (E). Univariate (F) and multivariate Cox analyses (G) show that signature is an independent risk factor for patients with LUAD in the TCGA cohort. Risk score differences between groups according to clinicopathological features, including the grade (H), stage (I), T stage (J), and N stage (K). (L) Nomogram combining clinicopathological variables and risk scores to predict overall survival at 1, 3, and 5 years of patients with LUAD. (M) The calibration curves of the nomogram for predicting the probability of 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival. ROC, receiver operating characteristic; TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas; M, metastasis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Infiltration levels of 16 immune cells in the high- and low-risk groups using the ssGSEA algorithm. (B) Correlation of predictive signature with 13 immune-related functions or pathways. Immune and stromal scores (C), immune cell infiltration using TIMER (D) and CIBERSORT (E), MHC molecule expression levels (F), and five common immunoinhibitors (G) between the high- and low-risk groups. (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ns, not significant).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Differences in angiogenic activity, mesenchymal EMT, tumorigenic cytokines, and stemness scores between the high- and low-risk groups. (B) Correlation of the risk score and the angiogenic activity, mesenchymal EMT, tumorigenic cytokines, and stemness scores. (C) Differences in TSIs between the two groups. TSIs, tumor stemness indices. (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ns, not significant).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Waterfall plot of somatic mutation features in the high-risk group (A) and low-risk group (B). Heatmap of co-occurrence and mutually exclusive mutations of the differently mutated genes in the high-risk group (C) and the low-risk group (D). (E) Comparison of the difference in TMB between high- and low-risk groups. (F) The difference in overall survival between high- and low-TMB groups. (G) The difference in overall survival is based on the TMB and risk score. (H) Mutation rates of six genes (SNHG12, PABPC1, IGF2BP1, FOXM1, CBFA2T3, and CASC8) in patients with LUAD from the cBioPortal database.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(A) Comparison of common chemotherapy drug sensitivities between high- and low-risk groups. (B) Differentially expressed genes between the high- and low-risk groups. (C) The 3D structure of eight potential target drugs screened from the cMap database.

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