Tian Ruotong, Li Yimin, Liu Qian, Shu Minfeng
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, No.131 Dong'an Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai 200032, China.
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No.270 Dong'an Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai 200032, China.
Cancers (Basel). 2021 Apr 6;13(7):1730. doi: 10.3390/cancers13071730.
The prognosis of patients with glioma is largely related to both the tumor-infiltrating immune cells and the expression of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that are able to regulate various pro-inflammatory and oncogenic mediators. However, immune-associated RBPs in glioma remain unexplored. In this study, we captured patient data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and divided them into two immune subtype groups according to the difference in infiltration of immune cells. After differential expression and co-expression analysis, we identified 216 RBPs defined as immune-associated RBPs. After narrowing down processes, eight RBPs were selected out to construct a risk signature that proven to be a novel and independent prognostic factor. The patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups on the basis of risk score. Higher risk scores meant worse overall survival and higher expression of human leukocyte antigen and immune checkpoints such as PD1 and CTLA4. In addition, analyses of pathway enrichment, somatic mutation, copy number variations and immuno-/chemotherapeutic response prediction were performed in high- and low-risk groups and compared with each other. For the first time, we demonstrated a novel signature composed of eight immune-associated RBPs that was valuable in predicting the survival of glioma patients and directing immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
胶质瘤患者的预后在很大程度上与肿瘤浸润免疫细胞以及能够调节各种促炎和致癌介质的RNA结合蛋白（RBPs）的表达有关。然而，胶质瘤中与免疫相关的RBPs仍未被探索。在本研究中，我们从癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）获取患者数据，并根据免疫细胞浸润差异将其分为两个免疫亚型组。经过差异表达和共表达分析，我们鉴定出216种被定义为免疫相关RBPs的蛋白。经过筛选过程，选出8种RBPs构建风险特征，该特征被证明是一种新的独立预后因素。根据风险评分将患者分为高风险组和低风险组。较高的风险评分意味着总体生存率较差，以及人类白细胞抗原和免疫检查点（如PD1和CTLA4）的表达较高。此外，对高风险组和低风险组进行了通路富集、体细胞突变、拷贝数变异以及免疫/化疗反应预测分析，并相互比较。我们首次证明了一种由8种免疫相关RBPs组成的新特征，其在预测胶质瘤患者的生存以及指导免疫治疗和化疗方面具有重要价值。
