Integrated Transcriptomic Analysis Revealed Hub Genes and Pathways Involved in Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Regulation of Fuzheng Huayu capsule on inhibiting the fibrosis-associated hepatocellular carcinogenesis

In the current study, bioinformatics analysis of the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) dataset was conducted with the hepatoprotective effect of the Fuzheng Huayu (FZHY) capsule against the diethylnitrosamine-induced HCC progression analyzed. Eight cell clusters were defined and tanshinone IIA, arachidonic acid, and quercetin, compounds of the FZHY capsule, inhibit HCC progression-related fibrosis by regulating the expression of PLAU and IGFBP3. Combined with the ameliorative effect of the FZHY capsule against liver dysfunctions and expression of PLAU and IGFBP3, our study confirmed the effect of the FZHY capsule on inhibiting the fibrosis-associated HCC progression via regulating the expression of PLAU and IGFBP3.

Identification of ferroptosis and drug resistance related hub genes to predict the prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Currently, overcoming the drug resistance in HCC is a critical challenge and ferroptosis has emerged as a promising therapeutic option for cancer. We aim to construct a new gene signature related to ferroptosis and drug resistance to predict the prognosis in HCC. The RNA-seq data of HCC patients was obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator cox regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and differential analysis, we constructed a prognostic model consisting of six hub genes (TOP2A, BIRC5, VEGFA, HIF1A, FTH1, ACSL3) related to ferroptosis and drug resistance in HCC. Functional enrichment, pathway enrichment and GSEA analysis were performed to investigate the potential molecular mechanism, and construction of PPI, mRNA-miRNA, mRNA-RBP, mRNA-TF and mRNA-drugs interaction networks to predict its interaction with different molecules. Clinical prognostic characteristics were revealed by univariate, multivariate cox regression analysis and nomogram. We also analyzed the relationship between the signature, immune checkpoints, and drug sensitivity. The expression of the gene signature was detected in HCC cell lines and HPA database. Our prognostic model classified patients into high and low-risk groups based on the risk scores and found the expression level of the genes was higher in the high-risk group than the low-risk group, demonstrating that high expression of the hub genes was associated with poor prognosis in HCC. ROC analysis revealed its high diagnostic efficacy in both HCC and normal tissues. The proportional hazards model and calibration analysis confirmed that the model's prediction was most accurate for 1- and 3-years survival. QRT-PCR showed the high expression level of the gene signature in HCC. Our study built a novel gene signature with good potential to predict the prognosis of HCC, which may provide new therapeutic targets and molecular mechanism for HCC diagnosis and treatment.

HMOX1 Attenuates the Sensitivity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells to Sorafenib via Modulating the Expression of ABC Transporters

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a common malignancy, and mechanisms of acquired sorafenib resistance during the treatment of HCC patients remain elusive. The present study performed integrated bioinformatics analysis and explored the potential action of heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the sorafenib-resistant group as compared to the sorafenib-sensitive group from GSE140202 and GSE143233 were extracted. Fifty common DEGs between GSE140202 and GSE143233 were extracted. Ten hub genes were identified from the protein-protein interaction network based on common DEGs. Experimental results revealed the upregulation of HMOX1 in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells. HMOX1 silence promoted the sensitivity to sorafenib in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells; overexpression of HMOX1 attenuated the sensitivity. In addition, HMOX1 silence downregulated the mRNA expression of ABC transporters in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells, while HMOX1 overexpression upregulated mRNA expression of ABC transporter expression in HCC cells. Further analysis also revealed that high expression of HMOX1 was associated with shorter OS and DSS in HCC patients. In conclusion, our analysis identified ten hub genes associated with sorafenib resistance in HCC. Further validation studies demonstrated that HMOX1 promoted sorafenib resistance of HCC cells via modulating ABC transporter expression.