Establishment of a prognostic model towards lung squamous cell carcinoma based on m7G-related genes in TCGA.

Abstract

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is a non-small cell lung cancer with a poor prognosis owing to late diagnosis. New molecular markers are urgently needed to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of LUSC. 7-Methylguanosine (m7G) modifications-a transfer RNA (tRNA) modification-are common in eubacteria, eukaryotes, and a few archaea. These modifications promote the turnover and stability of some mRNAs to prevent mRNA decay, improve translation efficiency, and reduce ribosomal pausing but are associated with poor survival in human cancer cells. However, the expression of m7G-related genes in LUSC and their association with prognosis remain unclear. In this study, we identified nine differentially expressed genes related to prognosis by comparing the expression profiles of tumor tissues (502 LUSC reports) with normal tissues (49 adjacent non-tumor lung tissue reports). The genes included six upregulated (KLK7, LCE3E, AREG, KLK6, ZBED2, and MAPK4) and three downregulated (ADH1C, NTS, and ERLIN2) genes. Based on these nine genes, patients with LUSC were classified into low- and high-risk groups to analyze the trends in prognosis. We found that the nine m7G-related genes play important roles in immune regulation, hormone regulation, and drug sensitivity through pathways, including antigen processing and presentation, adherent plaques, ECM receptor interactions, the drug metabolism of cytochrome p450, and the metabolism of cytochrome p450 to xenobiotics; the functions of these genes are likely accomplished in part by m6A modifications. The effect of m7G-related genes on the diagnosis and prognosis of LUSC was further indicated by population analysis.