Open Access Journal Article

A prognostic aging-related lncRNA risk model correlates with the immune microenvironment in HCC

by Kun Mei a,1 ,  Zilu Chen b,1 ,  Qin Wang c ,  Akbar Ali d ,  Yan Huang e,* orcid  and  Luo Yi f, g,*
a
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou 213003, China
b
Center for Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Soochow University, School of Radiological & Interdisciplinary Sciences, Soochow University (RAD-X), Suzhou, China
c
Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
d
Nishtar Medial College, Multan, Pakistan
e
Department of Ultrasound, Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210001, China
f
Department of Oncology, Jiangsu Province Hospital on Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing 210028, China
g
Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
CI  2024, 35; 3(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.58567/ci03020003
Received: 28 October 2023 / Accepted: 27 December 2023 / Published Online: 9 January 2024
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Abstract

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) stands out as one of the most lethal cancers globally, given its complexity, recurrence following surgical resection, metastatic potential, and inherent heterogeneity. In recent years, researchers have systematically elucidated the significance of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in the initiation and progression of HCC. The introduction of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases has significantly enhanced the prognostic assessment of HCC. However, the association between HCC and cell senescence has been infrequently explored in the literature. Method: We downloaded liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC)-related messenger RNA and lncRNA expression levels from TCGA. Correlation analysis, Cox regression, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis were employed to validate the lncRNA risk model associated with cellular aging. Comparing the infiltration of diverse immune cells enabled the identification of distinct differences in the immunological microenvironments of the two risk groups. Subsequently, we conducted a real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) experiment to confirm the accuracy of the selected lncRNAs. Results: A predictive framework for HCC was constructed based on the expression levels of five lncRNAs. Multivariate and univariate Cox regression analyses revealed that lncRNA signatures associated with senescence were independently correlated with an increased risk of HCC. Additionally, the nomogram also provides a more refined and sensitive model. Further investigation into the variations in immune cells and functions between the high-risk and low-risk groups was conducted. Subsequently, a qPCR experiment results revealed underexpression of AC068756.1, AC090578.1, AC145343.1, and LINC0022 in Huh7 and LM3 cells. In contrast, AP003392.4 did not exhibit a significant difference between Huh7 and control cells. Conclusion: The prognostic features and nomogram, consisting of five aging-related lncRNAs (AC068756.1, AC090578.1, AC145343.1, AP003392.4, and LINC00221), may be useful in predicting the overall survival of HCC.

Keywords: Cell aging; hepatocellular carcinoma; immune; lncRNA; TCGA;
Copyright: © 2024 by Mei, Chen, Wang, Ali, Huang and Yi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.