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Han T, Wu J, Liu Y, Zhou J, Miao R, Guo J, Xu Z, Xing Y, Bai Y, Hu D. Integrating bulk-RNA sequencing and single-cell sequencing analyses to characterize adenosine-enriched tumor microenvironment landscape and develop an adenosine-related prognostic signature predicting immunotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma. Funct Integr Genomics 2024; 24:19. [PMID: 38265702 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-023-01281-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
The adenosine-signaling axis has been recognized as an important immunomodulatory pathway in tumor immunity. However, the biological role of the adenosine-signaling axis in the remodeling of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. Here, we quantified adenosine signaling (ado_sig) in LUAD samples using the GSVA method and assessed the prognostic value of adenosine in LUAD. Afterward, we explored the heterogeneity of the tumor-immune microenvironment at different adenosine levels. In addition, we analyzed the potential biological pathways engaged by adenosine. Next, we established single-cell transcriptional profiles of LUAD and analyzed cellular composition and cell-cell communication analysis under different adenosine microenvironments. Moreover, we established adenosine-related prognostic signatures (ARS) based on comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and evaluated the efficacy of ARS in predicting immunotherapy. The results demonstrated that adenosine signaling adversely impacted the survival of immune-enriched LUAD. The high-adenosine microenvironment exhibited elevated pro-tumor-immune infiltration, including M2 macrophages and displayed notably increased epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) transformation. Furthermore, adenosine signaling displayed significant associations with the expression patterns and prognostic value of immunomodulators within the TME. Single-cell sequencing data revealed increased fibroblast occupancy and a prominent activation of the SPP1 signaling pathway in the high adenosine-signaling microenvironment. The ARS exhibited promising effectiveness in prognostication and predicting immunotherapy response in LUAD. In summary, overexpression of adenosine can cause a worsened prognosis in the LUAD with abundant immune infiltration. Moreover, increased adenosine levels are associated with pro-tumor-immune infiltration, active EMT transformation, pro-tumor angiogenesis, and other factors promoting cancer progression, which collectively contribute to the formation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Importantly, the ARS developed in this study demonstrate high efficacy in evaluating the response to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Han
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jing Wu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yafeng Liu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiawei Zhou
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Miao
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianqiang Guo
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhi Xu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingru Xing
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Anhui Zhongke Gengjiu Hospital, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Bai
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Dong Hu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Dust Prevention and Control & Occupational Safety and Health of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
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Liu Y, Han T, Wu J, Zhou J, Guo J, Miao R, Xu Z, Xing Y, Bai Y, Hu D. SPOCK1, as a potential prognostic and therapeutic biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma, is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and immune evasion. J Transl Med 2023; 21:909. [PMID: 38087364 PMCID: PMC10717042 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04616-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The occurrence of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and immune evasion is considered to contribute to poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Therefore, this study aims to explore the key oncogenes that promote EMT and immune evasion and reveal the expression patterns, prognostic value, and potential biological functions. METHODS Firstly, we identified gene modules associated with EMT and Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Next, we utilized differential analysis and machine learning to identify the key genes and validate them. Moreover, we analyzed the correlation between key genes and tumor microenvironment remodeling, drug sensitivity, as well as mutation frequency. Furthermore, we explored and validated their malignant biological characteristics through in vitro experiments and clinical samples. Finally, potential drugs for LUAD were screened based on CMap and validated through experiments. RESULTS Firstly, WGCNA analysis revealed that red and green modules were highly correlated with EMT and TIDE. Among them, upregulated expression of SPOCK1 was observed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and was associated with poor prognosis. Additionally, patients in the high SPOCK1 group showed more activation of malignant oncogenic pathways, higher infiltration of immunosuppressive components, and a higher frequency of mutations. The knockdown of SPOCK1 suppressed invasion and metastasis capabilities of lung adenocarcinoma cells, and the high expression of SPOCK1 was associated with low infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Therapeutic aspects, SPOCK1 can be a candidate indicator for drug sensitivity and CMap showed that VER-155008 was the drug candidate with the largest perturbation effect on the SPOCK1 expression profile. In vitro and in vivo experiments validated the cancer-inhibitory effect of VER-155008 in LUAD. CONCLUSION This study revealed through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and experimental analysis that SPOCK1 can promote EMT and immune escape in LUAD, and it may serve as a promising candidate prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for LUAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafeng Liu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Han
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Wu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jiawei Zhou
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianqiang Guo
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Miao
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhi Xu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingru Xing
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Anhui Zhongke Gengjiu Hospital, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Bai
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Dong Hu
- School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Chongren Building, No 168, Taifeng St, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Dust Prevention and Control & Occupational Safety and Health of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China.
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
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