The bioinformatics and experimental analysis of AlkB family for prognosis and immune cell infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

PeerJ

article

Bi Peng¹  Yuanliang Yan²  Zhijie Xu¹ 

[1] Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University;Department of Pharmacy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University;National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University

关键词: Hepatocellular carcinoma;    AlkB family;    Molecular profiles;    Prognosis;    Immune cell infiltration;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12123

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundServing as N6-methyladenosine demethylases, the AlkB family is involved in the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular profiles and clinical values of the AlkB family in HCC are not well known.MethodsSeveral bioinformatics tools and in vitro experiments were used to identify the immune-related profiles and prognostic values of AlkB family in HCC.ResultsIn this study expression levels of ALKBH1/2/3/4/7 were all remarkably increased in HCC tissues when compared with normal tissues. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry were used to validate the expression of AlkB family members in HCC tissues and normal liver tissues. In addition, high expression levels of ALKBH4 were negatively correlated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with HCC. Increased ALKBH4 was also associated with pathological stage in HCC patients. The molecular profiles of AlkB family in HCC were mainly associated with peptidyl-serine modification, peptidyl-tyrosine modification, regulation of metal ion transport, etc. Furthermore, tumor-infiltrating immune cell analysis indicated that ALKBH1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 and FTO were related to the infiltration of different immune cell, such as CD8+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells and CD4+ T cells. We also discovered that the methylation levels of ALKBH1/2/4/5/6/8 and FTO were remarkably reduced in HCC tissues.ConclusionsCollectively, our findings may deepen the understanding of specific molecular profiles of the AlkB family in HCC pathology. In particular, ALKBH4 could serve as a promising prognostic candidate for treating HCC, and these results might potentiate the development of more reliable therapeutic strategies for patients with HCC.

【 授权许可】

CC BY