Identification of m6A-Associated Gene DST as a Prognostic and Immune-Associated Biomarker in Breast Cancer Patients

Xiangyuan Qiu; Xinying Li; Yuanliang Yan; Yuan Cai; Qiuju Liang; Bi Peng; Zhijie Xu; Muzhang Xiao; Fada Xia; Jinwu Peng

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S344146

Identification of m6A-Associated Gene DST as a Prognostic and Immune-Associated Biomarker in Breast Cancer Patients

Int J Gen Med. 2022 Jan 12:15:523-534. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S344146. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiangyuan Qiu¹, Xinying Li¹, Yuanliang Yan², Yuan Cai³, Qiuju Liang², Bi Peng³, Zhijie Xu^{3

4

5}, Muzhang Xiao⁶, Fada Xia¹, Jinwu Peng^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Thyroid Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Pharmacy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Pathology, Xiangya Changde Hospital, Changde, 415000, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁵ National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁶ Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is most common internal RNA modification in eukaryotic cells. Existing evidence shows that m6A is closely related to pathogenesis and progression in breast cancer (BRCA). Therefore, it is critical to investigate the key role of m6A target genes in BRCA.

Methods: M6A target genes in BRCA are acquired using RMVar online database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from three microarray datasets (GSE5764, GSE22358, GSE9014) is processed by GEO2R. Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN and TNMplot were applied to validate the expression of DST. Survival analyses were performed via DRUGSURV and Kaplan-Meier Plotter database. Univariable survival and multivariate Cox analysis were completed to assess the prognostic value of DST and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of DST. We also investigated the correlation between DST and cancer immune infiltration via using CIBERSORT, TIMER and TISIDB.

Results: DST and COL11A1 were significantly expressed in both DEGs and m6A target genes set. COL11A1 show no significance on the patients' survival. However, high expression of DST was related to the favorable prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that the DST dysregulation is an independent prognostic factor and ROC indicated that the great diagnostic value of DST with AUC of 0.948. Subsequently, immunological analyses showed that DST was significantly associated with various immune infiltration cells, including NK cells, T helper cells and Mast cells. Furthermore, DST was also related with multiple immune checkpoints and chemokines, including LAG3, LMTK3 CD24, CXCL12, KDR and CX3CR1. These results indicated the potential roles of DST in the development of BRCA via altering the immune response.

Conclusion: DST can influence the development and progression of BRCA by altering the immune microenvironment.

Keywords: DST; N6-methyladenosine; breast cancer; immune infiltration; immune microenvironment.

Grants and funding

This study is supported by grants from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021T140754, 2020M672521), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province (2021RC3029), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2020JJ5934), and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Central South University (248485).