Multi-omic analyses of hepatocellular carcinoma to determine immunological characteristics and key nodes in gene-expression network

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor worldwide, but effective immunotherapy is still limited for those affected. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore the specific mechanisms governing tumor immunity to improve the survival rate for those diagnosed with HCC. In this study, we performed a new immune stratification of HCC samples into two subclasses (A and B) from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium databases, and comprehensive multi-omic analyses of major histocompatibility complex genes, gene copy-number variations, somatic mutations, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNAs. Subclass A was found to have a higher survival rate compared to subclass B, and there were significant immunological differences between the two clusters. Based on these differences, we identified DRD1 and MYCN as key hub genes in the immune-phenotype gene expression regulatory network. These results provide novel ideas and evidence for HCC regulatory mechanisms that may improve immunotherapy for this cancer.

Dopamine and dopamine receptor D1 as a novel favourable biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma

“…1 a). Our previous studies have identified DRD1 as a key hub gene in the immune-phenotype gene expression regulatory network of HCC [ 18 ]. Therefore, we deeply explored DRD1 expression, which was remarkably decreased in HCC primary tumour tissues compared with normal tissues (Fig.…”

“…It was also established that DRD1 activation might enhance antitumour activities in pancreatic cancer [ 8 ]. Our previous study determined that DRD1 acts as a key regulatory gene in HCC immune signature identification [ 18 ]. However, the specific mechanism by which DRD1 regulates HCC proliferation and migration is still unclear.…”