Title:Construction of an Oxidative Stress Risk Model to Analyze the
Correlation Between Liver Cancer and Tumor Immunity
Volume: 24
Author(s): Ying Liu, Yufeng Li, Li Chen, Weina Zha, Jing Zhang, Kun Wang, Chunhai Hao and Jianhe Gan*
Affiliation:
- Department of Infectious Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Keywords:
Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Oxidative Stress, Prognosis, Risk model, Tumor Immunity
Abstract: Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most lethal cancers
globally. Despite advancements in immunotherapy, the prognosis for patients with HCC continues
to be poor. As oxidative stress plays a significant role in the onset and progression of various diseases,
including metabolism-related HCC, comprehending its mechanism in HCC is critical for effective
diagnosis and treatment.
Methods: This study utilized the TCGA dataset and a collection of oxidative stress genes to determine
the expression of oxidative stress-related genes in HCC and their association with overall survival
using diverse bioinformatics methods. A novel prognostic risk model was developed, and
the TCGA cohort was divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on each tumor sample's
risk score. Levels of immune cell infiltration and the expression of immune checkpoint-related
genes in different risk subgroups were analyzed to investigate the potential link between tumor immunity
and oxidative stress-related features. The expression of model genes in actual samples was
validated through immunohistochemistry, and their mRNA and protein expression levels were
measured in cell cultures.
Results: Four oxidative stress-related genes (EZH2, ANKZF1, G6PD, and HMOX1) were identified
and utilized to create a predictive risk model for HCC patient overall survival, which was subsequently
validated in an independent cohort. A significant correlation was found between the expression
of these prognostic genes and the infiltration of tumor immune cells. Elevated expression
of EZH2, ANKZF1, G6PD, and HMOX1 was observed in both HCC tissues and cell lines.
Conclusion: The combined assessment of EZH2, ANKZF1, G6PD, and HMOX1 gene expression
can serve as a model to evaluate the risk of oxidative stress in HCC. Furthermore, there is a
notable correlation between the expression of these risk model genes and tumor immunity.
