m6A-Related lncRNAs Are Potential Prognostic Biomarkers of Cervical Cancer and Affect Immune Infiltration

Dis Markers. 2022 Apr 11:2022:8700372. doi: 10.1155/2022/8700372. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The correlation of m6A-related lncRNAs with the prognosis and immune microenvironment of cervical cancer is not yet clear. In this study, we identified 7 m6A-related prognostic lncRNAs by Pearson correlation and univariate Cox regression analyses based on TCGA-cervical cancer dataset. Then, patients were divided into two clusters by consensus clustering based on the 7 m6A-related prognostic lncRNA expression. Cluster 1 was characterized by survival and stage disadvantage, enrichment of immunosuppressive and carcinogenic activation pathways. Besides, cluster 1 had higher immunosuppressive factor TGFbeta and lower immune cell infiltration compared with cluster 2. According to the expression of 7 m6A-related lncRNA, a 6-m6A-related lncRNA risk score model was established in the training set by LASSO regression analysis. The high-risk group had worse overall survival than the low-risk group. No matter in the training or validation sets, the m6A-related lncRNA risk score was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Meanwhile, we validated the independent prognostic value of risk score in the disease-specific survival and progression-free survival by multivariate Cox analysis. The high-risk group was characterized by higher TGFbeta and regulatory T cell and was rich in malignant pathways. Additionally, we also detected and compared the expression levels of four m6A-related prognostic lncRNA in 9 tumor samples and 9 normal tissues using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. In conclusion, the novel m6A-related lncRNA risk score is a potential prognostic predictor of cervical cancer patients. These 6 m6A-related lncRNAs might serve as key mediators of the immune microenvironment and represent promising therapeutic targets for improving cervical cancer prognosis.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / metabolism
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta / genetics
  • Tumor Microenvironment / genetics
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / genetics

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta