Screening and biomarker assessment of ferroptosis genes FLT3 and ALOX5 in lung adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Objectives Ferroptosis is a unique process of cell death that specifically requires iron. We investigated ferroptosis genes and their function in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients. Methods Data on the expression levels of genes associated with ferroptosis were collected from the FerrDb and the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Kaplan-Meier Plotter was employed to generate the survival curves of LUAD patients with high vs low expression of ferroptosis genes. The relationship between immune cell infiltration and ferroptosis genes was analyzed via TIMMER. Immunohistochemical staining was employed to quantitatively evaluate gene expression in 43 LUAD patients. Results A total of 89 ferroptosis genes were found to have significant differential expression between LUAD and normal tissues (p<0.05), 23 of which were selected and consistent prognostic trends were observed based on analysis of RNA-Seq and RNA microarray data (p<0.05). These 23 ferroptosis genes were assigned to 10 high-abundance pathways and 18 functional categories. Besides, the expression of ALOX5 and FTL3 demonstrated a positive correlation with sets of immune markers. The expression of ALOX5 exhibited a positive correlation with the levels of infiltration of dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and CD4+ T cells, while FLT3 expression correlated with the infiltration of B cells, CD4+ T cells, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Furthermore, ALOX5 was confirmed to be downregulated in lung tumor tissues (p<0.01). Conclusions Our findings show that the ferroptosis genes FLT3 and ALOX5 play prominent roles in immune cell infiltration during LUAD progression and may serve as prognostic biomarkers for LUAD.

Pan-cancer analysis of RNA 5-methylcytosine reader (ALYREF)

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Integrated bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing identifies an aneuploidy-based gene signature to predict sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma to traditional chemotherapy drugs and patients’ prognosis

“…LUAD is represented by highly inflammatory infiltration ( Luo et al, 2020 ; Zheng et al, 2023 ). The early asymptomatic characteristics of LUAD often leads to a late diagnosis of most LUAD patients as well as a poor cancer prognosis.…”

Molecular mechanism of radiation tolerance in lung adenocarcinoma cells using single‐cell RNA sequencing

“…The prognosis of LUAD is not ideal, and the 5‐year survival rate of most patients usually remains below 15% 5 . At present, due to the progress of diagnosis and lifestyle changes, the incidence of LUAD has increased slightly, and more than 70% of patients have been diagnosed when they have advanced to the middle and late stages 6,7 . Radiation therapy is a useful and commonly used therapeutic tool for lung cancer patients, and it plays a key role in achieving local tumour control while limiting damage to surrounding tissues 8 .…”

“…have been diagnosed when they have advanced to the middle and late stages. 6,7 Radiation therapy is a useful and commonly used therapeutic tool for lung cancer patients, and it plays a key role in achieving local tumour control while limiting damage to surrounding tissues. 8 Although only a portion of individuals experience positive results from radiation treatment, deciphering the molecular factors that influence how individuals respond to cancer therapy remains a significant obstacle in the field of oncology.…”