IMR Press / FBL / Volume 28 / Issue 10 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2810235
Open Access Original Research
The Pyroptosis-Related Signature Composed of GSDMC Predicts Prognosis and Contributes to Growth and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Min Li1,†Qiuyu Jiang2,†Xinyi Liu2,†Liping Han3She Chen1,*Ruyi Xue2,*
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1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, 200032 Shanghai, China
2 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 200032 Shanghai, China
3 Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 200040 Shanghai, China
*Correspondence: shechen@fudan.edu.cn (She Chen); xue.ruyi@zs-hospital.sh.cn (Ruyi Xue)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(10), 235; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2810235
Submitted: 7 February 2023 | Revised: 30 April 2023 | Accepted: 12 May 2023 | Published: 12 October 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multi-Omics Biomarker Signatures in Precision Cancer Medicine)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Pyroptosis-related genes (PRG) are closely associated with the progression and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The predictive power of PRGs could be used to assess the clinical outcomes of HCC. Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNA-seq data and clinical information from patients with liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) were used to identify PRG with differentially expressed between HCC and normal samples. Univariate Cox regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox method, and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to develop a prognostic model that included three PRGs. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to identify differential immune cells and their associated pathways. The expression of Gasdermin C (GSDMC) in the HCC samples was detected by western blotting, and the function of GSDMC in HCC proliferation and metastasis was detected by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, cell invasion, and wound healing assays. Results: Of 52 PRGs, GSDMC, Bcl-2 homologusantagonist/ killer 1 (BAK1), and NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 6 (NLRP6) were selected to establish a prognostic model. The model successfully differentiated HCC patients with varied survival in the TCGA training and test cohorts, as well as the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) validation cohorts. The risk score was proven to be an independent prognostic factor. In addition, we also reported a marked upregulation of GSDMC in HCC tissues, which could be induced by CD274 (PD-L1). Overexpression of GSDMC contributes to HCC cells invasion, proliferation, and migration. Conclusions: The three PRGs signatures containing GSDMC independently predicted HCC prognosis. As a new driver molecule, GSDMC could play a tumor-promoting role by facilitating HCC growth and metastasis.

Keywords
hepatocellular carcinoma
pyroptosis
GSDMC
prognosis
immune checkpoint
Funding
81972294/The National Natural Science Foundation of China
Figures
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