Wei Yuanfeng, Yang Xi, Gao Limin, Yang Ju, Zheng Lingnan, Gao Ling, Zhou Xiaohan, Xiang Xiaoyu, Zhang Jie, Yi Cheng
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
Am J Cancer Res. 2021 Oct 15;11(10):4826-4843. eCollection 2021.
Circulating RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in tumor development and progression by participating in immune regulation. Nevertheless, the circRNAs expression profiles and their roles on the immunomodulatory effects in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) have rarely been studied. In our study, we identified the differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), mRNAs (DEmRNAs) in cSCC and established the circRNA competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network. Subsequently, the hub differentially expressed immune-related genes were identified and validated by immunochemistry as well as the GO and KEGG pathway analysis were performed. 54 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified and hub differentially expressed immune-related genes were identified and they were mostly associated with immune response in the progression of cSCC. Our results indicated that the potential immune-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network may assist in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the carcinogenesis and progression in cSCC. Moreover, the immune-related genes may provide an insight into the pathogenesis, molecular biomarkers, and potential therapeutic targets for cSCC patients.
环状RNA（circRNAs）通过参与免疫调节而在肿瘤的发生和发展过程中发挥作用。然而，关于环状RNA在皮肤鳞状细胞癌（cSCC）中的表达谱及其对免疫调节作用的研究却很少。在我们的研究中，我们鉴定了cSCC中差异表达的环状RNA（DEcircRNAs）、微小RNA（DEmiRNAs）、信使RNA（DEmRNAs），并构建了环状RNA竞争性内源RNA（ceRNAs）网络。随后，我们鉴定了核心差异表达的免疫相关基因，并通过免疫化学进行了验证，同时还进行了基因本体（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路分析。我们鉴定出54个差异表达的环状RNA，并确定了核心差异表达的免疫相关基因，它们大多与cSCC进展过程中的免疫反应相关。我们的结果表明，潜在的免疫相关环状RNA-微小RNA-信使RNA网络可能有助于理解cSCC发生和发展的分子机制。此外，免疫相关基因可能为cSCC患者的发病机制、分子生物标志物及潜在治疗靶点提供线索。
