Wu Min, Shi Qi-Man, Duan Sai-Li, Ou-Yang Deng-Jie, Chen Pei, Tu Biao, Huang Peng
Department of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People's Republic of China.
Int J Gen Med. 2022 Feb 18;15:1765-1775. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S352574. eCollection 2022.
Glutamine and serine rich 1 (QSER1), as a DNA methylation modulator, play a crucial role in transforming tumor cells. Previous studies have shown that QSER1 plays a role in regulating the progression of various malignancies and that QSER1 dysfunction is connected with precancerous lesions of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as well as HCC prognosis. However, little is known about the detailed contribution of QSER1 in HCC.
Various statistical methods such as Kaplan-Meier method, AUC analysis, GSEA, and immune-infiltration analysis were used to evaluate the relationship between QSER1 expression and clinical features, prognostic factors, and potential functional mechanisms of QSER1.
QSER1 expression was negatively correlated with clinicopathological features (clinical stage, pathological grade, TP53 mutation, lymph node metastasis) and clinical outcome (overall survival versus recurrence). Functional enrichment analysis further suggested that QSER1 is involved in multiple pathways related to DNA replication and tumor immunity. TIMER analysis indicated that high QSER1 expression was significantly associated with higher macrophage infiltration and poorer macrophage-related outcomes. In particular, QSER1 was significantly more associated with M2 macrophages than M1 macrophages.
Overall, elevated QSER1 is a potential prognostic marker for HCC and is associated with immune infiltration in HCC.
富含谷氨酰胺和丝氨酸1（QSER1）作为一种DNA甲基化调节剂，在肿瘤细胞转化中起关键作用。先前的研究表明，QSER1在调节各种恶性肿瘤的进展中起作用，并且QSER1功能障碍与肝细胞癌（HCC）的癌前病变以及HCC预后相关。然而，关于QSER1在HCC中的具体作用知之甚少。
使用多种统计方法，如Kaplan-Meier法、AUC分析、GSEA和免疫浸润分析，来评估QSER1表达与临床特征、预后因素以及QSER1潜在功能机制之间的关系。
QSER1表达与临床病理特征（临床分期、病理分级、TP53突变、淋巴结转移）和临床结局（总生存与复发）呈负相关。功能富集分析进一步表明，QSER1参与多个与DNA复制和肿瘤免疫相关的途径。TIMER分析表明，高QSER1表达与更高的巨噬细胞浸润以及更差的巨噬细胞相关结局显著相关。特别是，QSER1与M2巨噬细胞的相关性明显高于M1巨噬细胞。
总体而言，QSER1升高是HCC的潜在预后标志物，并且与HCC中的免疫浸润相关。
