FDX1 can Impact the Prognosis and Mediate the Metabolism of Lung Adenocarcinoma

The implications and prospect of cuproptosis-related genes and copper transporters in cancer progression

Currently, cancer has become one of the major public health problems worldwide. Apoptosis is an important anti-cancer defense mechanism, which is used in the development of targeted drugs. Because cancer cells have endogenous resistance to apoptosis,the clinical efficacy of related drugs is not ideal. Therefore, non-apoptotic regulatory cell death may bring new therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. Cuproptosis is a novel form of regulatory cell death which is copper-dependent, regulated and distinct from other known cell death regulatory mechanisms. FDX1,LIAS,and DLAT named cuproptosis-related genes play an essential role in regulating cuproptosis. Meanwhile, abnormal accumulation of copper can be observed in various malignant tumors. The correlation has been established between elevated copper levels in serum and tissues and the progression of several cancers. Copper transporters, CTR1 and Copper-transporting ATPases(ATP7A and ATP7B), are mainly involved in regulating the dynamic balance of copper concentration to maintain copper homeostasis. Thus,cuproptosis-related genes and copper transporters will be the focus of cancer research in future. This review elaborated the basic functions of cuproptosis-related genes and copper transporters by retrievalling PubMed. And then we analyzed their potential relationship with cancer aiming to provide theoretical support and reference in cancer progression, diagnosis and treatment for future study.

Cuproptosis-Related MiR-21-5p/FDX1 Axis in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma and Its Potential Impact on Tumor Microenvironment

As a newly identified type of programmed cell death, cuproptosis may have an impact on cancer development, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Herein, we first noticed that the expression levels of cuproptosis regulators exhibited a tight correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics of ccRCC. The cuproptosis-sensitive sub-type (CSS), classified via consensus clustering analysis, harbored a higher overall survival rate compared to the cuproptosis-resistant sub-type (CRS), which may have resulted from the differential infiltration of immune cells. FDX1, the cuproptosis master regulator, was experimentally determined as a tumor suppressor in ccRCC cells by suppressing the cell growth and cell invasion of ACHN and OSRC-2 cells in a cuproptosis-dependent and -independent manner. The results from IHC staining also demonstrated that FDX1 expression was negatively correlated with ccRCC tumor initiation and progression. Furthermore, we identified the miR-21-5p/FDX1 axis in ccRCC and experimentally verified that miR-21-5p directly binds the 3'-UTR of FDX1 to mediate its degradation. Consequently, a miR-21-5p inhibitor suppressed the cell growth and cell invasion of ACHN and OSRC-2 cells, which could be compensated by FDX1 knockdown, reinforcing the functional linkage between miR-21-5p and FDX1 in ccRCC. Finally, we evaluated the ccRCC tumor microenvironment under the miR-21-5p/FDX1 axis and noted that this axis was strongly associated with the infiltration of immune cells such as CD4⁺ T cells, Treg cells, and macrophages, suggesting that this signaling axis may alter microenvironmental components to drive ccRCC progression. Overall, this study constructed the miR-21-5p/FDX1 axis in ccRCC and analyzed its potential impact on the tumor microenvironment, providing valuable insights to improve current ccRCC management.

Multi-omics pan-cancer study of cuproptosis core gene FDX1 and its role in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma

Background

The mechanism of copper-induced cellular death was newly discovered and termed cuproptosis. Inducing cuproptosis in cancer cells is well anticipated for its curative potential in treating tumor diseases. However, ferredoxin 1 (FDX1), the core regulatory gene in cuproptosis, is rarely studied, and the regulation of FDX1 in tumor biology remains obscure. A comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of FDX1 is needed.

Methods

Thirty-three types of tumors were included with paired normal tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) datasets. The interaction between transcription, protein, phosphorylation, and promoter methylation levels was analyzed. Survival, immune infiltration, single-cell FDX1 expression, FDX1-related tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), stemness, tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE), and immunotherapy-related analyses were performed. FDX1 protein expression was assessed by kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) tissue microarray immunohistochemistry. The function of FDX1 in KIRC was further explored by experiments in 786-O cell lines in vitro.

Results

FDX1 is highly expressed in 15 tumor types and lowly expressed in 11 tumor types. The corresponding changes in protein expression, phosphorylation, and promoter methylation level of FDX1 have been described in several tumors. Survival analysis showed that FDX1 was related to favorable or poor overall survival in eight tumors and progression-free survival in nine tumors. Immune infiltration and single-cell analysis indicated the indispensable role of FDX1 expression in macrophages and monocytes. Multiple established immunotherapy cohorts suggested that FDX1 may be a potential predictor of treatment effects for tumor patients. Tissue microarray analysis showed decreased FDX1 expression in KIRC patients' tumor tissues. Knockdown of FDX1 resulted in the downregulation of cuproptosis in kidney renal clear tumor cells. Mechanistically, the FDX1-associated gene expression signature in KIRC is related to the enrichment of genes involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, NOTCH pathway, etc. Several NOTCH pathway genes were differentially expressed in the high- and low-FDX1 groups in KIRC.

Conclusion

Our analysis showed that the central regulatory gene of cuproptosis, FDX1, has differential expression and modification levels in various tumors, which is associated with cellular function, immune modulation, and disease prognosis. Thus, FDX1-dependent cuproptosis may serve as a brand-new target in future therapeutic approaches against tumors.

Cuproptosis-associated lncRNAs discern prognosis and immune microenvironment in sarcoma victims

Cuproptosis is a fresh form of the copper-elesclomol-triggered, mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) dependent cell death. Yet, the subsumed mechanism of cuproptosis-associated lncRNAs in carcinoma is not wholly clarified. Here, We appraised 580 cuproptosis-associated lncRNAs in sarcoma and thereafter construed a module composing of 6 cuproptosis lncRNAs, entitled CuLncScore, utilizing a machine learning methodology. It could outstandingly discern the prognosis of patients in parallel with discriminating tumor immune microenvironment traits. Moreover, we simulate the classification system of cuproptosis lncRNAs by unsupervised learning method to facilitate differentiation of clinical denouement and immunotherapy modality options. Notably, Our Taizhou cohort validated the stability of CuLncScore and the classification system. Taking a step further, we checked these 6 cuproptosis lncRNAs by Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to ascertain their authenticity. All told, our investigations highlight that cuproptosis lncRNAs are involved in various components of sarcoma and assist in the formation of the tumor immune microenvironment. These results provide partial insights to further comprehend the molecular mechanisms of cuproptosis lncRNAs in sarcoma and could be helpful for the development of personalized therapeutic strategies targeting cuproptosis or cuproptosis lncRNAs.

A novel prognostic signature of cuproptosis-related genes and the prognostic value of FDX1 in gliomas

Background: Gliomas are the most common malignant tumors of the central nervous system, with extremely bad prognoses. Cuproptosis is a novel form of regulated cell death. The impact of cuproptosis-related genes on glioma development has not been reported. Methods: The TCGA, GTEx, and CGGA databases were used to retrieve transcriptomic expression data. We employed Cox's regressions to determine the associations between clinical factors and cuproptosis-related gene expression. Overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. We also used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression technique. Results: The expression levels of all 10 CRGs varied considerably between glioma tumors and healthy tissues. In glioma patients, the levels of CDKN2A, FDX1, DLD, DLAT, LIAS, LIPT1, and PDHA1 were significantly associated with the OS, disease-specific survival, and progression-free interval. We used LASSO Cox's regression to create a prognostic model; the risk score was (0.882340) *FDX1 expression + (0.141089) *DLD expression + (-0.333875) *LIAS expression + (0.356469) *LIPT1 expression + (-0.123851) *PDHA1 expression. A high-risk score/signature was associated with poor OS (hazard ratio = 3.50, 95% confidence interval 2, -4.55, log-rank p < 0.001). Cox's regression revealed that the FDX1 level independently predicted prognosis; FDX1 may control immune cell infiltration of the tumor microenvironment. Conclusion: The CRG signature may be prognostic in glioma patients, and the FDX1 level may independently predict glioma prognosis. These data may afford new insights into treatment.

A Novel Cuproptosis-Related Prognostic Model and the Hub Gene FDX1 Predict the Prognosis and Correlate with Immune Infiltration in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a common malignancy of the urological system with poor prognosis. Cuproptosis is a recently discovered novel manner of cell death, and the hub gene FDX1 could promote cuproptosis. However, the potential roles of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) and FDX1 for predicting prognosis, the immune microenvironment, and therapeutic response have been poorly studied in ccRCC. In the present study, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data were downloaded. CRGs were subjected to prognosis analysis, and three of them were used to construct the prognostic model by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. The CRGs prognostic model showed excellent performance. Moreover, based on the risk score of the model, the nomogram was developed to predict 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival. Furthermore, the hub gene of cuproptosis, FDX1, was an independent prognostic biomarker in multivariate Cox regression analysis. The pan-cancer analysis showed that FDX1 was significantly downregulated and closely related to prognosis in ccRCC among 33 cancer types. Lower FDX1 was also correlated with worse clinicopathologic features. The lower expression of FDX1 in ccRCC was verified in the external database and our own database, which may be caused by DNA methylation. We further demonstrated that the tumor mutational burden (TMB) and immune cell infiltration were related to the expression of FDX1. Immune response and drug sensitivity analysis revealed that immunotherapy or elesclomol may have a favorable treatment effect in the high FDX1 expression group and sunitinib or axitinib may work better in the low FDX1 expression group. In conclusion, we constructed a CRGs prognostic model and revealed that FDX1 could serve as a prognostic biomarker and predict therapeutic response in ccRCC. The study will provide a novel, precise, and individual treatment strategy for ccRCC patients.

A novel prognostic signature for lung adenocarcinoma based on cuproptosis-related lncRNAs: A Review

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a highly heterogeneous disease with complex pathogenesis, high mortality, and poor prognosis. Cuproptosis is a new type of programmed cell death triggered by copper accumulation that may play an important role in cancer. LncRNAs are becoming valuable prognostic factors in cancer patients. The effect of cuproptosis-related lncRNAs (CRlncRNAs) on LUAD has not been clarified. Based on the Cancer Genome Atlas database, CRlncRNAs were screened by co-expression analysis of cuproptosis- related genes and lncRNAs. Using CRlncRNAs, Cox and LASSO regression analyses constructed a risk prognostic model. The predictive efficacy of the model was assessed and validated using survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic curve, univariate and multifactor Cox regression analysis, and principal component analysis. A nomogram was constructed and calibration curves were applied to enhance the predictive efficacy of the model. Tumor Mutational Burden analysis and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity prediction were performed to assess the clinical feasibility of the risk model. The novel prognostic signature consisted of 5 potentially high-risk CRlncRNAs, MAP3K20-AS1, CRIM1-DT, AC006213.3, AC008035.1, and NR2F2-AS1, and 5 potentially protective CRlncRNAs, AC090948.1, AL356481.1, AC011477.2, AL031600.2, and AC026355.2, which had accurate and robust predictive power for LUAD patients. Collectively, the novel prognostic signature constructed based on CRlncRNAs can effectively assess and predict the prognosis of patients and provide a new perspective for the diagnosis and treatment of LUAD.

A mitochondria-related signature for predicting immune microenvironment and therapeutic response in osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND

Osteosarcoma remains to be the most devastating malignant tumor in children and teenagers. Mitochondria have also been proven to play critical roles in osteosarcoma. However, a mitochondria-related signature has been established in osteosarcoma to comprehensively evaluate the pathogenic roles and regulatory roles of mitochondria in osteosarcoma.

METHODS

In this study, osteosarcoma samples' transcriptome data and clinical information were collected from Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was performed on the samples at the bulk RNA sequencing level and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) level. EdU, Transwell, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed on PCCB.

RESULTS

A mitochondria-related signature was constructed in osteosarcoma patients. The prognostic value of the mitochondria-related signature was explored. The predictive value of the mitochondria-related signature in the immune microenvironment and chemotherapy agents was explored. The association between mitochondria and immunity in the tumor microenvironment of osteosarcoma at the scRNA-seq level was investigated. The tumorigenic role of the critical mitochondria-related gene, PCCB, was verified by in vitro validation.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, a mitochondria-related signature was developed in osteosarcoma with solid predictive values in the immune microenvironment, chemotherapy agents, and prognosis.

Cuproptosis key gene FDX1 is a prognostic biomarker and associated with immune infiltration in glioma

Recent studies have found that the protein encoded by the FDX1 gene is involved in mediating Cuproptosis as a regulator of protein lipoylation and related to immune response process of tumors. However, the specific biological function of FDX1 in glioma is currently unclear. To explore the potential function of FDX1, this study explored the correlation between the expression of FDX1 in cancers and survival prognosis by analyzing the public databases of GEPIA and Cbioportal. Immune infiltration was analyzed by the TIMER2.0 database in tumors. The possible biological processes and functions of FDX1-related in glioma were annotated through gene enrichment. Relationship between Cuproptosis and autophagy was explored through gene co-expression studies. Summary and conclusions of this study: (1) FDX1 is highly expressed in gliomas and associated with poor prognosis in low-grade gliomas (LGG). (2) Gene annotation indicates that FDX1 is mainly involved in the tumor protein lipoylation and cell death. (3) FDX1 expression is positively correlated with the infiltration of immune cells. (4) LIPT2 and NNAT, two other genes involved in lipoylation, may be unidentified marker gene for Cuproptosis. And the Cuproptosis genes related to FDX1 were positively correlated with the expression of autophagy marker genes Atg5, Atg12, and BECN-1. This evidence suggests that there may be some interaction between FDX1 mediated Cuproptosis and autophagy. In summary, FDX1 may serve as a potential immunotherapy target and prognostic marker for Glioma.

Construction of a novel cuproptosis-related gene signature for predicting prognosis and estimating tumor immune microenvironment status in papillary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Cuproptosis, a new form of programmed cell death, has been recently reported to be closely related to tumor progression. However, the significance of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is still unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of the CRG signature in prognosis prediction and immunotherapeutic effect estimation in patients with PTC.

METHODS

RNA-seq data and the corresponding clinical information of patients with PTC were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Comprehensive analyses, namely, consensus clustering, immune analyses, functional enrichment, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-multivariate Cox regression, and nomogram analysis, were performed to identify new molecular subgroups, determine the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) status of the identified subgroups, and construct a clinical model. Independent verification cohort data and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to validate the expression of specific prognosis-related and differentially expressed CRGs (P-DECRGs).

RESULTS

In the TCGA database, 476 patients with PTC who had complete clinical and follow-up information were included. Among 135 CRGs, 21 were identified as P-DECRGs. Two molecular subgroups with significantly different disease-free survival and TIME statuses were identified based on these 21 P-DECRGs. The differentially expressed genes between the two subgroups were mainly associated with immune regulation. The risk model and nomogram were constructed based on four specific P-DECRGs and validated as accurate prognostic predictions and TIME status estimation for PTC by TCGA and GEO verification cohorts. Finally, the qPCR results of 20 PTC and paracancerous thyroid tissues validated those in the TCGA database.

CONCLUSIONS

Four specific P-DECRGs in PTC were identified, and a clinical model based on them was established, which may be helpful for individualized immunotherapeutic strategies and prognostic prediction in patients with PTC.

Cuproptosis-related gene signature stratifies lower-grade glioma patients and predicts immune characteristics

Cuproptosis is the most recently discovered type of regulated cell death and is mediated by copper ions. Studies show that cuproptosis plays a significant role in cancer development and progression. Lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) are slow-growing brain tumors. The majority of LGGs progress to high-grade glioma, which makes it difficult to predict the prognosis. However, the prognostic value of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in LGG needs to be further explored. mRNA expression profiles and clinical data of LGG patients were collected from public sources for this study. Univariate Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression model were used to build a multigene signature that could divide patients into different risk groups. The differences in clinical pathological characteristics, immune infiltration characteristics, and mutation status were evaluated in risk subgroups. In addition, drug sensitivity and immune checkpoint scores were estimated in risk subgroups to provide LGG patients with precision medication. We found that all CRGs were differentially expressed in LGG and normal tissues. Patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups based on the risk score of the CRG signature. Patients in the high-risk group had a considerably lower overall survival rate than those in the low-risk group. According to functional analysis, pathways related to the immune system were enriched, and the immune state differed across the two risk groups. Immune characteristic analysis showed that the immune cell proportion and immune scores were different in the different groups. High-risk group was characterized by low sensitivity to chemotherapy but high sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors. The current study revealed that the novel CRG signature was related to the prognosis, clinicopathological features, immune characteristics, and treatment perference of LGG.

Comprehensive analysis of the cuproptosis-related model to predict prognosis and indicate tumor immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma

Background

Cuproptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death termed as Cu-dependent cytotoxicity. However, the roles of cuproptosis-associated genes (CAGs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) have not been explored comprehensively.

Methods

We obtained CAGs and utilized consensus molecular clustering by “non-negative matrix factorization (NMF)” to stratify LUAD patients in TCGA (N = 511), GSE13213 (N = 117), and GSE31210 (N = 226) cohorts. The ssGSEA and CIBERSORT algorithms were used to evaluate the relative infiltration levels of immune cell types in tumor microenvironment (TME). The risk score based on CAGs was calculated to predict patients’ survival outcomes.

Results

We identified three cuproptosis-associated clusters with different clinicopathological characteristics. We found that the cuproptosis-associated cluster with the worst survival rates exhibited a high enrichment of activated CD4/8+ T cells. In addition, we found that the cuproptosis-associated risk score could be used for patients’ prognosis prediction and provide new insights in immunotherapy of LUAD patients. Eventually, we constructed a nomogram-integrated cuproptosis-associated risk score with clinicopathological factors to predict overall survival in LUAD patients, with 1-, 3-, and 5-year area under curves (AUCs) being 0.771, 0.754, and 0.722, respectively, all of which were higher than those of the TNM stage.

Conclusions

In this study, we uncovered the biological function of CAGs in the TME and its correlations with clinicopathological parameters and patients’ prognosis in LUAD. These findings could provide new angles for immunotherapy of LUAD patients.

Pan-cancer analysis of cuproptosis regulation patterns and identification of mTOR-target responder in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The mechanism of cuproptosis, a novel copper-induced cell death by regulating tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA)-related genes, has been reported to regulate oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) in cancers and can be regarded as potential therapeutic strategies in cancer; however, the characteristics of cuproptosis in pan-cancer have not been elucidated.

METHODS

The multi-omics data of The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to evaluate the cuproptosis-associated characteristics across 32 tumor types. A cuproptosis enrichment score (CEScore) was established using a single sample gene enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) in pan-cancer. Spearman correlation analysis was used to identify pathway most associated with CEScore. Lasso-Cox regression was used to screen prognostic genes associated with OXPHOS and further construct a cuproptosis-related prognostic model in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

RESULTS

We revealed that most cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) were differentially expressed between tumors and normal tissues, and somatic copy number alterations contributed to their aberrant expression. We established a CEScore index to indicate cuproptosis status which was associated with prognosis in most cancers. The CEScore was negatively correlated with OXPHOS and significantly featured prognosis in ccRCC. The ccRCC patients with high-risk scores show worse survival outcomes and bad clinical benefits of Everolimus (mTOR inhibitor).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate the importance of abnormal CRGs expression in cancers. In addition, identified several prognostic CRGs as potential markers for prognostic distinction and drug response in the specific tumor. These results accelerate the understanding of copper-induced death in tumor progression and provide cuproptosis-associated novel therapeutic strategies.

Identification of cuproptosis-related subtypes in lung adenocarcinoma and its potential significance

Cuproptosis is a novel and unique cell death mode that has attracted significant interest in recent years. Little is currently known about whether cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) are associated with the pathophysiology and survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The present study sought to characterize the transcriptional and genetic alteration of CRGs in LUAD and its potential significance in the tumor microenvironment and predicting the prognosis of LUAD. The secondary eventual aim was to study the role of CRGs in predicting immunotherapy response and its clinical value combined with the TNM stage. We found that several CRGs, including FDX1, DLD, SLC31A1, and MTF1, were enriched in macrophages in our single-cell RNA-seq data. Three distinct molecular subtypes were identified and correlated with clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, biological pathways, and tumor microenvironment (TME) in LUAD. We developed a cuproptosis-related gene score (CRG_score) and validated it in three independent cohorts and clinical subtypes. The low CRG_score group, characterized by a greater immune score, immunophenoscore (IPS), lower tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score, and T-cell dysfunction score, had a better prognosis, suggesting that the low CRG_score group responded more favorably to immunotherapy, which was validated in the anti-PD-1/L1 immunotherapy cohort (IMvigor210). In contrast, the high CRG_score group was more sensitive to targeted therapy and chemotherapy, with a higher cancer stem cell (CSC) index and lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for many drugs. Given the established crosstalk between CRG_score and tumor TNM stage, we developed an accurate nomogram for clinical application of the CRG_score. Taken together, our rigorous and comprehensive examination of CRGs in LUAD identified their potential functions in TME, clinicopathological characteristics, drug sensitivity, and prognosis. These findings improve the current understanding of cuproptosis in LUAD, paving the way for more accurate prognosis assessment and tailored treatment for this patient population.

Cuprotosis-related signature predicts overall survival in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background: Cuprotosis is a new form of programmed cell death induced by copper. We explored the correlation of cuprotosis with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and constructed a cuprotosis-related signature to predict the prognosis of patients with ccRCC.

Methods: The clinical and transcriptomic data of ccRCC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), cBioPortal, and GEO databases, and cuprotosis-related gene sets were contained in the previous study. A cuprotosis-related signature was developed based on data from TCGA and verified by data from cBioPortal and GEO databases. The immune cell infiltrates and the corresponding signature risk scores were investigated. Two independent cohorts of clinical trials were analyzed to explore the correlation of the signature risk score with immune therapy response.

Results: A signature containing six cuprotosis-related genes was identified and can accurately predict the prognosis of ccRCC patients. Patients with downregulated copper-induced programmed death had a worse overall survival (hazard ratio: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.39–2.59, p < 0.001). The higher signature risk score was significantly associated with male gender (p = 0.026), higher tumor stage (p < 0.001), and higher histological grade (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the signature risk score was positively correlated with the infiltration of B cells, CD8⁺ T cells, NK cells, Tregs, and T cells, whereas it was negatively correlated with eosinophils, mast cells, and neutrophils. However, no correlation between cuprotosis and response to anti-PD-1 therapy was found.

Conclusion: We established a cuprotosis signature, which can predict the prognosis of patients with ccRCC. Cuprotosis was significantly correlated with immune cell infiltrates in ccRCC.

Cuproptosis-related gene FDX1 expression correlates with the prognosis and tumor immune microenvironment in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background

Cuproptosis, a newly discovered form of cell death, is regulated by protein lipoylation and is related to mitochondrial metabolism. However, further research is needed to determine how the cuproptosis-related gene ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) affects the tumor immune response and its prognostic significance in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Methods

The Cancer Genome Atlas was used to screen for FDX1 gene expression in ccRCC and healthy tissue samples. The results were validated using the Gene Expression Omnibus and the Human Protein Atlas. Multivariable analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to examine the relationship between FDX1 gene expression, clinicopathological parameters, and overall survival (OS). The protein network containing FDX1 gene interaction was constructed using the online Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins. The relationship between FDX1 gene expression and immune cell infiltration in ccRCC was examined using Gene Ontology, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and a single-sample GSEA. Using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource databases, we investigated the relationship between FDX1 gene expression, the degree of immune cell infiltration, and the corresponding gene marker sets.

Results

ccRCC samples had significantly (p < 0.05) lower FDX1 gene expression levels than normal tissue samples. Lower FDX1 gene expression levels were strongly associated with higher cancer grades and more advanced tumor-node-metastasis stages. The findings of multivariate and univariate analyses illustrated that the OS in ccRCC patients with low FDX1 expression is shorter than in patients with high FDX1 expression (p < 0.05). Ferredoxin reductase and CYP11A1 are key proteins interacting with the FDX1 gene, and ccRCC with an FDX1 enzyme defect was associated with a low number of invading immune cells and their corresponding marker.

Conclusion

In ccRCC, decreased FDX1 expression was linked to disease progression, an unfavorable prognosis, and dysregulated immune cell infiltration.

Characterization of the functional effects of ferredoxin 1 as a cuproptosis biomarker in cancer

Background: Cuproptosis is a recently discovered form of programmed cell death. Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) is a key gene that mediates this process. However, the role of FDX1 in human tumors is not clear.

Methods: We comprehensively analyzed the differential expression and genetic alterations of FDX1 using multiomics data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. Subsequently, we explored the association between FDX1 and tumor parameters such as genomic instability, RNA methylation modifications, immune infiltration and pathway activity. In addition, we performed functional enrichment analysis and assessed the sensitivity potential of FDX1-related drugs. Finally, we experimentally verified the functional effects of FDX1.

Results: The analysis revealed differential expression of FDX1 in a variety of tumors. By analyzing the association of FDX1 expression with genomic instability, immune cell infiltration, signaling pathway etc. We explored the role of FDX1 in regulating cell activity. Also, we evaluated the function of FDX1 in biologic process and drug sensitivity. Our experimental results demonstrated that FDX1 exerts its antitumor effects through cuproptosis in liver hepatocellular carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer cell lines.

Conclusion: Our study reveals the functional effects of FDX1 in tumors and deepens the understanding of the effects of FDX1. We validated the inhibitory effect of FDX1 in copper induced cell-death, confirming the role of FDX1 as a cuproptosis biomarker.

Prognostic, Clinicopathological, and Function of Key Cuproptosis Regulator FDX1 in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histological subtype of renal cancer. Cuproptosis is suggested to be a novel therapy target for cancer treatment. However, the function of cuproptosis and its key regulator FDX1 in ccRCC remains unclear. In this study, we adequately explored the prognostic factors, clinicopathological characteristics, and function of FDX1 in ccRCC. We found that the expression of FDX1 was significantly downregulated in ccRCC samples. Patients with a higher FDX1 expression had a significantly better prognosis, including overall survival (OS) (Hazard ratio (HR): 2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.82−3.53, p < 0.001), disease-specific survival (DSS) (HR: 3.04, 95% CI: 2.04−4.54, p < 0.001), and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR: 2.54, 95% CI: 1.82−3.53, p < 0.001). FDX1 was a clinical predictor to stratify patients into the high or low risk of poor survival, independent of conventional clinical features, with the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.658, 0.677, and 0.656 for predicting the 5-year OS, DSS, and PFS. The nomogram model based on FDX1 had greater predictive power than other individual prognostic parameters. FDX1 mainly participated in the oxidative-related process and mitochondrial respiration-related processes but was not associated with immune infiltration levels. In conclusion, the cuproptosis key regulator FDX1 could serve as a potential novel prognostic biomarker for ccRCC patients.

The core genes of cuproptosis assists in discerning prognostic and immunological traits of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Objective

Cuproptosis, a nascent and unique pattern of cell death, is poised to spark a new rush of biological research. Yet, the subsumed mechanism of cuproptosis in carcinoma is not wholly clarified. The exclusive aim of this work is to define a novel classification algorithm and risk-prognosis scoring framework based on the expression modalities of cuproptosis genes to monitor clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients’ prognosis and immunotherapeutic response.

Methods

We pooled ccRCC data from three large-scale databases as the training subset and gathered a panel of clinical queues, termed the Taizhou cohort, which served as the validation setup. Wilcox test was conducted for comparison of expression variation, while the cox analysis and KM curves were utilized to visualize prognosis. Unsupervised clustering analysis was used to identify cuproptosis phenotypes in ccRCC. Concurrently, LASSO regression-based computational scoring model. A step further, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to check potential biological processes and the “CIBERSORT” R package was used to estimate the proportion of immune cells. To last, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were carried out for the assay of critical genes for cuproptosis.

Results

Here, we glimpse the prognostic power of cuproptosis genes in pan-cancer by investigating 33 cancers with multi-omics data to map their genetic heterogeneity landscape. In parallel, we devoted extra attention to their strategic potential role in ccRCC, identifying two phenotypes of cuproptosis with different immune microenvironmental characteristics by pooling ccRCC data from three large-scale databases. Additionally, we compiled a cuproptosis scoring system for clinicians to determine the prognosis, immunotherapy response, and chemosensitivity of ccRCC patients. Notably, we assembled a clinical cohort sample to validate the pivotal gene for cuproptosis, FDX1, to supply more clues to translate the biological significance of cuproptosis in ccRCC.

Conclusion

In all, our investigations highlight that cuproptosis is involved in various components of ccRCC and assists in the formation of the tumor immune microenvironment. These results provide partial insights to further comprehend the molecular mechanisms of cuproptosis in ccRCC and could be helpful for the development of personalized therapeutic strategies targeting copper or cuproptosis.

Ferredoxin 1 is a cuproptosis-key gene responsible for tumor immunity and drug sensitivity: A pan-cancer analysis

Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) functions by transferring electrons from NADPH to mitochondrial cytochrome P450 via the ferredoxin reductase and is the key regulator in copper-dependent cell death. Although mounting evidence supports a vital role for FDX1 in tumorigenesis of some cancers, no pan-cancer analysis of FDX1 has been reported. Therefore, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of FDX1 in pan-cancer and investigate its potential immune function. Based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, Genotype Tissue-Expression, Human Protein Atlas, and Gene Set Cancer Analysis, we used a range of bioinformatics approaches to explore the potential carcinogenic role of FDX1, including analyzing the relationship between FDX1 expression and prognosis, DNA methylation, RNA methylation-related genes, mismatch repair (MMR) gene, microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor microenvironment (TME), immune-related genes, and drug sensitivity in different tumors. The results show that FDX1 was lowly expressed in most cancers but higher in glioblastoma multiforme, stomach adenocarcinoma, and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma. Moreover, FDX1 expression was positively or negatively associated with prognosis in different cancers. FDX1 expression was significantly associated with DNA methylation in 6 cancers, while there was a correlation between FDX1 expression and RNA methylation-related genes and MMR gene in most cancers. Furthermore, FDX1 expression was significantly associated with MSI in 8 cancers and TMB in 10 cancers. In addition, FDX1 expression was also significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration, immune-related genes, TME, and drug resistance in various cancers. An experiment in vitro showed FDX1 is downregulated by elesclomol, resulting in inhibiting cell viability of bladder cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and prostate cancer cells. Our study reveals that FDX1 can serve as a potential therapeutic target and prognostic marker for various malignancies due to its vital role in tumorigenesis and tumor immunity.

FDX1 expression predicts favourable prognosis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma identified by bioinformatics and tissue microarray analysis

Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1), an iron-sulphur protein, is responsible for electron transfer in a range of metabolic redox reactions. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is an aggressive cancer characterised by metabolic reprogramming, and FDX1 is a critical regulator of cuproptosis. However, the expression profile and prognostic value of FDX1 associated with clinicopathological features in ccRCC remain largely unelucidated. In this study, we integrated a series of public bioinformatic analysis to explore the mRNA and protein profiles of FDX1 across human cancers and cell lines and validated its expression and prognostic value, especially in ccRCC. In this study, FDX1 mRNA and protein expression were aberrantly downregulated and associated with ccRCC grade, stage, and nodal metastasis, whereas in adjacent non-tumour kidney tissue, it was abundantly expressed and cytoplasmically localised in renal tubular epithelial cells. Multivariate analysis indicated that low FDX1 expression contributed to unfavourable overall and disease-free survival. The functional enrichment of FDX1 co-expressed genes in ccRCC involved mainly mitochondrial dysfunction in various metabolic processes and biological oxidation, besides iron-sulphur cluster biogenesis. Furthermore, FDX1 modulates immunological infiltration to affect prognosis. Thus, FDX1 downregulation is mechanistically because of ccRCC tumourigenesis and is a promising prognostic biomarker to stratify patients with ccRCC.

Identification of cuproptosis-related subtypes, cuproptosis-related gene prognostic index in hepatocellular carcinoma

Cuproptosis is a novel form of cell death, correlated with the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. However, the metabolic features and the benefit of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy based on cuproptosis have not yet been elucidated in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). First, we identified and validated three cuproptosis subtypes based on 10 cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in HCC patients. We explored the correlation between three cuproptosis subtypes and metabolism-related pathways. Besides, a comprehensive immune analysis of three cuproptosis subtypes was performed. Then, we calculated the cuproptosis-related gene prognostic index (CRGPI) score for predicting prognosis and validated its predictive capability by Decision curve analysis (DCA). We as well explored the benefit of ICI therapy of different CRGPI subgroups in two anti-PD1/PD-L1 therapy cohorts (IMvigor210 cohort and GSE176307). Finally, we performed the ridge regression algorithm to calculate the IC50 value for drug sensitivity and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis to explore the potential mechanism. We found that cluster A presented a higher expression of FDX1 and was correlated with metabolism, glycolysis, and TCA cycle pathways, compared with the other two clusters. HCC patients with high CRGPI scores had a worse OS probability, and we further found that the CRGPI-high group had high expression of PD1/PDL1, TMB, and better response (PR/CR) to immunotherapy in the IMvigor210 cohort and GSE176307. These findings highlight the importance of CRGPI serving as a potential biomarker for both prognostic and immunotherapy for HCC patients. Generally, our results provide novel insights about cuproptosis into immune therapeutic strategies.

Cuprotosis-Related Genes: Predicting Prognosis and Immunotherapy Sensitivity in Pancreatic Cancer Patients

Based on TCGA, GTEx, and TIMER databases and various bioinformatics analysis methods, the potential biological roles of cuprotosis-related genes in pancreatic cancer were deeply explored, and a predictive model for pancreatic cancer patients was constructed. We downloaded the RNA-Seq data and clinicopathological and predictive data of 179 pancreatic cancer tissues and 332 adjacent normal tissues from TCGA and GTEx databases. The differential expression of cuprotosis-related genes in pancreatic cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue was analyzed, and the LASSO regression algorithm was used to construct a prediction model and verify the validity of the model prediction. Based on the LASSO regression algorithm, a predictive model composed of three genes LIPT1, LIAS, and DLAT was screened. The corresponding survival curves showed that the constructed prediction model could significantly distinguish the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients, and the prognosis of patients in the high-risk group was worse (P = 0.00557). The ROC curve showed that the area under the curve of the predictive model for predicting the 4-, 5-, and 6-year survival rates in pancreatic cancer was 0.816, 0.836, and 0.956, respectively. The AUC value of this risk model was significantly higher than 0.7, which could more accurately predict the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. This study determined a risk-scoring model of cuprotosis-related genes, which can provide an essential basis for judging the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.

A Novel Cuprotosis-Related Gene FDX1 Signature for Overall Survival Prediction in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients

Background

Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) is a newly discovered gene regulating cuprotosis. However, the effect of FDX1 expression on clear renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is unknown.

Methods

Gene expression profiles and clinical data of ccRCC patients were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The differences in FDX1 expression between ccRCC and nonneoplastic tissues adjacent to cancer were analyzed by R software. The results were validated by GEO data, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting (WB), and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Chi-square test was used to analyze the clinical pathological parameters. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression model selection were used to evaluate the effect of FDX1 expression on overall survival. Protein interaction networks were used to analyze other proteins that interact with FDX1. Signal pathway analysis was performed for possible FDX1 enrichment using GSEA and ssGSEA algorithms. Pan-cancer analysis of FDX1 was carried out through TCGA database.

Results

The FDX1 expression in nontumor tissues was significantly higher than that in ccRCC, and the expression difference was verified by GEO data, qRT-PCR, WB, and IHC. The high expression of FDX1 was significantly related to the well overall survival rate (P < 0.05). The chi-square test showed that the high expression of FDX1 was related to gender, TNM stage, T stage, lymph node metastasis, and pathological grade. Additionally, the FDX1 expression level was different in groups classified based on pathological grade, gender, TNM stage, T stage, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis (P < 0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed the high expression of FDX1 as an important independent predictor for overall survival. STRING database results showed that LIAS and LIPT1 may interact with FDX1 in the PPI network, which are also involved in the regulation of cuprotosis. The GSEA and ssGSEA results showed that the FDX1 was enriched in the anticancer pathway. The FDX1 high expression is associated with better prognosis in many cancers, as revealed by pan-cancer analysis.

Conclusion

FDX1 may play a role in the progression of ccRCC as a tumor suppressor gene. It can be used as a potential prognostic indicator and therapeutic target of ccRCC. However, the cuprotosis regulatory role in the development of ccRCC needs to be further verified.

A novel cuproptosis-related gene signature for predicting prognosis in cervical cancer

Purpose: Cuproptosis, a form of copper-induced cell death, can be a promising therapeutic target for refractory cancers. Hence, we conducted this research to explore the association between cuproptosis and prognosis in cervical cancer (CC).

Methods: For constructing a prognostic signature based on cuproptosis-related genes from TCGA database, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression was utilized. The GSE44001 cohort was utilized for validation.

Results: A total of nine cuproptosis-related genes showed distinct expression in CC and normal samples in TCGA-GTEx cohort. Two risk groups were identified based on a seven-gene signature. A significant decrease in overall survival was observed in the high-risk group (p &lt; 0.001). The risk score (HR = 2.77, 95% CI = 1.58–4.86) was an autocephalous predictor with a better predictive ability than the clinical stage. Functional analysis indicated that immune activities were suppressed more in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group. A total of 11 candidate compounds targeting the signature were identified.

Conclusion: A total of seven cuproptosis-related gene signatures were constructed to predict prognosis and propose a new therapeutic target for patients with CC.

Prognostic and immunological role of cuproptosis-related protein FDX1 in pan-cancer

Background: Cancer is the second cause of death worldwide. Copperoptosis is a new mode of regulated cell death and is strongly associated with metabolic pathways. FDX1 is a key gene that promotes copperoptosis, and its impact on tumor pathogenesis and tumor immune response is indistinct and needs further exploration.

Methods: Data was mined from the Cancer Genome Atlas database, the Broad Institute Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia database, and the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Survival analyses included the Kaplan–Meier method for calculating the cumulative incidence of survival events and the log-rank method for comparing survival curves between groups. Immune cell infiltration levels were calculated using the Spearman correlation test and correlated with FDX1 expression to assess significance. More correlation analyses between FDX1 expression and mutational markers, such as tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI), were also examined via Spearman assay to explore the relation between FDX1 expression and the sensitivity of common antitumor drugs.

Results: FDX1 expression was downregulated in most kinds of cancers, and this high expression indicated better overall survival and death-specific survival. For several cancer types, FDX1 expression had a positive correlation with immune cell infiltration, and FDX1 also had a positive correlation with TMB and MSI in some cancer types, linking its expression to the assessment of possible treatment responses.

Conclusion: The correlations between FDX1 expression and cancer in varioustissues, including clear links to cancer survival and prognosis, make FDX1 aninteresting biomarker and potential therapeutic target for cancer surveillance and futureresearch.

Cuproptosis predicts the risk and clinical outcomes of lung adenocarcinoma

Copper is an essential microelement for the body and a necessary coregulator for enzymatic reactions, yet an unbalanced copper level promotes reactive oxidation and cytotoxicity, which ultimately induces cell death. Several small molecules targeting copper-induced cell death have been investigated, yet few showed promising therapeutic effects in clinical trials. In March 2022, Science first introduced the concept and mechanisms of cuproptosis, suggesting that copper-induced cell death targets the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle via protein lipoylation. Does this novel form of cell death take part in tumorigenesis or tumor progression? Is cuproptosis related to clinical outcomes of diseases? Is there a cuproptosis-related panel for clinical practice in cancer treatment? Herein, based on 942 samples of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), we analyzed on gene set level the existence and predictive value of cuproptosis in disease diagnosis and treatment. We screened out and identified the “cupLA” panel which indicates the risk of LUAD occurrence, clinicopathological features of LUAD patients, and could guide clinicians to refine LUAD subtypes and make treatment choices.

Cuproptosis-Related Gene - SLC31A1, FDX1 and ATP7B - Polymorphisms are Associated with Risk of Lung Cancer

Background

Cuproptosis is a novel copper-dependent cell death, and the copper level was increased in lung cancer patients. However, few studies evaluated the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cuproptosis-related genes and lung cancer risk.

Methods

Six SNPs of the SLC31A1, FDX1 and ATP7B genes were genotyped in a case-control cohort including 650 lung cancer cases and 650 controls using the MassARRAY platform.

Results

The minor alleles of SLC31A1-rs10981694 and FDX1-rs10488764 were associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (rs10981694: OR=1.455, 95% CI: 1.201-1.763, p<0.001; rs10488764: OR=1.483, 95% CI: 1.244-1.768, p<0.001). In contrast, the minor alleles of rs9535826 and rs9535828 in ATP7B were related to a decreased risk of the disease (rs9535826: OR=0.714, 95% CI: 0.608-0.838 p<0.001; rs9535828: OR=0.679, 95% CI: 0.579-0.796, p<0.001). The frequencies of rs10981694-TG/GG and rs10488764-GA/AA genotypes were significantly higher in lung cancer cases than that in controls, making them risk genotypes for the disease (p < 0.001); while the rs9535826-TG/GG and rs9535828-GA/AA genotypes were protective genotypes and associated with a reduced risk of the disease (p<0.001). Genetic model evaluation revealed that SLC31A1-rs10981694 and FDX1-rs10488764 were associated with a growing risk of lung cancer in dominant, recessive and log-additive models (p<0.001). Moreover, rs9535826 and rs9535828 in ATP7B were related to a declining risk of the disease in three genetic models (p<0.001). In addition, stratification analysis showed that FDX1-rs10488764 was risk variant for lung cancer in both smokers and nonsmokers, and was associated with risk of each pathological type of lung cancer (p<0.008).

Conclusion

The results shed new light on the correlation between cuproptosis-related genes and risk of lung cancer.

Pan-cancer analyses confirmed the cuproptosis-related gene FDX1 as an immunotherapy predictor and prognostic biomarker

Background: The latest research identified cuproptosis as an entirely new mechanism of cell death. However, as a key regulator in copper-induced cell death, the prognostic and immunotherapeutic value of FDX1 in pan-cancer remains unclear.

Methods: Data from the UCSC Xena, GEPIA, and CPTAC were analyzed to conduct an inquiry into the overall differential expression of FDX1 across multiple cancer types. The expression of FDX1 in GBM, LUAD and HCC cell lines as well as their control cell lines was verified by RT-QPCR. The survival prognosis, clinical features, and genetic changes of FDX1 were also evaluated. Finally, the relationship between FDX1 and immunotherapy response was further explored through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis enrichment analysis, tumor microenvironment, immune cell infiltration, immune gene co-expression and drug sensitivity analysis.

Results: The transcription and protein expression of FDX1 were significantly reduced in most cancer types and had prognostic value for the survival of certain cancer patients such as ACC, KIRC, HNSC, THCA and LGG. In some cancer types, FDX1 expression was also markedly correlated with the clinical characteristics, TMB, MSI, and antitumor drug susceptibility or resistance of different tumors. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that FDX1 was significantly associated with immune-related pathways. Moreover, the expression level of FDX1 was confirmed to be strongly correlated with immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoint genes, and immune regulatory genes to a certain extent.

Conclusion: This study comprehensively explored the potential value of FDX1 as a prognostic and immunotherapeutic marker for pan-cancer, providing new direction and evidence for cancer therapy.

Cuproptosis and cuproptosis-related genes in rheumatoid arthritis: Implication, prospects, and perspectives

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that severely affects patients' physical and mental health, leading to chronic synovitis and destruction of bone joints. Although various available clinical treatment options exist, patients respond with varying efficacies due to multiple factors, and there is an urgent need to discover new treatment options to improve clinical outcomes. Cuproptosis is a newly characterized form of cell death. Copper causes cuproptosis by binding to lipid-acylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, leading to protein aggregation, loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins, and eventually proteotoxic stress. Targeting copper cytotoxicity and cuproptosis are considered potential options for treating oncological diseases. The synovial hypoxic environment and the presence of excessive glycolysis in multiple cells appear to act as inhibitors of cuproptosis, which can lead to excessive survival and proliferation of multiple immune cells, such as fibroblast-like synoviocytes, effector T cells, and macrophages, further mediating inflammation and bone destruction in RA. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to elaborate and summarize the linkage of cuproptosis and key genes regulating cuproptosis to the pathological mechanisms of RA and their effects on a variety of immune cells. This study aimed to provide a theoretical basis and support for translating preclinical and experimental results of RA to clinical protocols.

Molecular Subtyping Based on Cuproptosis-Related Genes and Characterization of Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration in Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma

The incidence of kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is rising worldwide, and the prognosis is poor. Cuproptosis is a new form of cell death that is dependent on and regulated by copper ions. The relationship between cuproptosis and KIRC remains unclear. In the current study, changes in cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in TCGA-KIRC transcriptional datasets were characterized, and the expression patterns of these genes were analyzed. We identified three main molecular subtypes and discovered that multilayer CRG changes were associated with patient clinicopathological traits, prognosis, elesclomol sensitivity, and tumor microenvironment (TME) cell infiltration characteristics. Then, a CRG score was created to predict overall survival (OS). The CRG score was found to be strongly linked to the TME. These findings may help elucidate the roles of CRGs in KIRC, potentially enhancing understanding of cuproptosis and supporting the development of more effective immunotherapy strategies.

A novel Cuproptosis-related LncRNA signature to predict prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Increased intracellular toxicity due to an imbalance in copper homeostasis caused by copper ion accumulation could regulate the rate of cancer cell growth and proliferation. The goal of this study was to create a novel Cuproptosis-related lncRNA signature that may be utilized to predict survival and immunotherapy in HCC patients. Cuproptosis-associated lncRNAs and differentially expressed lncRNAs between HCC tumor tissue and normal tissue were discovered first. By LASSO-Cox analysis, the overlapping lncRNAs were then utilized to build a Cuproptosis-associated lncRNA signature, which might be used to predict patient prognosis and responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Differences in the infiltration of immune cell subpopulations between high and low-risk score subgroups were also analyzed. Moreover, a nomogram based on the Cuproptosis-associated lncRNA signature and clinical features was developed and demonstrated to have good predictive potential. Finally, qRT-PCR was performed in HerpG2 and MHCC-97H cell lines to explore whether these lncRNAs were indeed involved in the process of Cuproptosis. In summary, we created a prognostic lncRNA profile linked to Cuproptosis to forecast response to immunotherapy, which may provide a new potential non-apoptotic therapeutic perspective for HCC patients.