A novel pyroptosis-related lncRNA prognostic signature associated with the immune microenvironment in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Background A growing body of evidence suggests that pyroptosis-related lncRNAs (PRncRNAs) are associated with the prognoses of tumor patients and their tumor immune microenvironments. However, the function of PRlncRNAs in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) remains unclear. Methods We downloaded the transcriptome and clinical information of 551 LUSC samples from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and randomly separated patients with complete information into two cohorts. Based on the training cohort, we developed a pyroptosis-related signature. We then examined the signature in the test cohort and all retained patients. We also clustered two risk groups in each cohort according to the signature and performed survival analysis, functional analysis, tumor immune microenvironment analysis and drug sensitivity analysis. Results A prognostic signature containing five PRlncRNAs (AP001189.1, PICART1, LINC02555, AC010422.4, and AL606469.1) was developed. A principal component analysis (PCA) indicated better differentiation between patients with different risk scores. Kaplan–Meier (K–M) analysis demonstrated poorer survival among patients with higher risk scores (P < 0.001). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis provided evidence confirming the accuracy of the signature, and univariate (p = 0.005) and multivariate (p = 0.008) Cox regression analyses confirmed the independent value of the risk score in prognoses. Clinical subgroup validation indicated that the signature was more suitable for patients with early-stage LUSC. We also created a nomogram to increase the accuracy of the prediction. Moreover, functional analysis revealed that pathways related to tumor development and pyroptosis were enriched in the high-risk group. Furthermore, the prognostic signature was proven to be a predictor of sensitivity to immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Conclusions We developed a novel pyroptosis-associated signature with independent value for the prognosis of LUSC patients. PRlncRNAs are closely associated with the tumor immune microenvironment in LUSC and might offer new directions for immunotherapy.

Rexinoids Induce Differential Gene Expression in Human Glioblastoma Cells and Protein–Protein Interactions in a Yeast Two-Hybrid System

“…AL606469.1 is an uncharacterized long noncoding RNA (LOC) gene, which is upregulated in A34 versus Bexarotene, A80 versus Bexarotene, and A98 versus Bexarotene. It has been implicated in higher risk of worse prognosis in lung squamous cell carcinoma; however, its function is unknown. Moreover, AC148477.2 is a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), which is downregulated in A34 versus Bexarotene and A41 versus ethanol.…”

Serum lncRNA THRIL predicts benign and malignant pulmonary nodules and promotes the progression of pulmonary malignancies

“…In the initiation and development of SPN, miR-144 is lowly expressed and it may serve as a biomarker in screening the development of SPN from benignancy to malignancy [ 11 ].LncRNA is a single-stranded non-coding RNA with an average size of over 200 nucleotides [ 12 ]. An imbalance in the expression or function of lncRNAs is considered to be an important reason for the occurrence and development of lung cancers [ 13 , 14 ]. Five lncRNAs, including FAM83A-AS1, have important clinical predictive significance in patients with lung adenocarcinoma [ 15 ].…”