A Novel Metabolism-Related Gene Signature for Predicting the Prognosis of HBV-Infected Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Zhenfu Gao; Jingyun Chen; Yebin Zhou; Pan Deng; Lu Sun; Jun Qi; Ping Zhang

doi:10.1155/2022/2391265

A Novel Metabolism-Related Gene Signature for Predicting the Prognosis of HBV-Infected Hepatocellular Carcinoma

J Oncol. 2022 Aug 28:2022:2391265. doi: 10.1155/2022/2391265. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zhenfu Gao¹, Jingyun Chen², Yebin Zhou¹, Pan Deng¹, Lu Sun¹, Jun Qi¹, Ping Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 1 Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
² Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 1 Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.

Abstract

Metabolic reprogramming is one of the crucial hallmarks of cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) resulting from hepatitis B has various altered metabolic features. However, the impact of such alterations on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and immunotherapy efficacy is still unclear. Here, a prognostic signature of metabolism-related gene (MRG) composition was constructed, and the immune profile of different subgroups and potential response to immunotherapy were described. Based on the HCC gene dataset, we used weighted gene coexpression network analysis for identifying MRGs linked to hepatitis B. An MRG prognostic index (MRGPI) with two genes, ATIC and KIF2C, was constructed using Cox regression analysis, an independent prognostic factor. In addition, the model was validated using the GEO dataset. The immune profile and prediction of HCC response to immunotherapy in different subgroups were analyzed using CIBERSORT and TIDE. Based on the outcomes, the distributions of memory B cells, monocytes, resting mast cells, and M0 macrophages in TME were different with a greater benefit of immunotherapy in the low MRGPI risk group. In addition, the MRGPI risk groups showed substantial differences in sensitivity to conventional drug therapy. This study concludes that MRGPI is an effective biomarker for predicting the prognoses of patients with HCC resulting from hepatitis B virus infections and determining the efficacy of immunotherapy and conventional medical therapy.