IMR Press / FBL / Volume 28 / Issue 12 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2812334
Open Access Original Research
Pyroptosis-Related Subtypes Predict the Response of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma to Targeted Therapy
Jinpeng Ma1,2,†Zhijian Kang1,2,†Guang Yang3,†Xinyue Wang1,2Minggui Si1,2Yuting Wang1,2Guangbin Li1,2Shiyu Bai1,2Fanshu Zeng1,2Min Li1,2Ziqi Wang1,4,*Lu Wang1,2,*Wanhai Xu1,4,*
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1 NHC Key Laboratory of Molecular Probes and Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy, Harbin Medical University, 150001 Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
2 Department of Urology, The Fourth Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Scientific Research in Urology, 150081 Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
3 Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 150001 Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
4 Department of Urology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, 150001 Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
*Correspondence: wangziqi@hrbmu.edu.cn (Ziqi Wang); wanglu@hrbmu.edu.cn (Lu Wang); xuwanhai@hrbmu.edu.cn (Wanhai Xu)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(12), 334; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2812334
Submitted: 20 March 2023 | Revised: 30 June 2023 | Accepted: 11 August 2023 | Published: 8 December 2023
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 plays a crucial role in anti-tumor immunity and in formation of the immune microenvironment. However, whether pyroptosis is involved in the progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is still unclear. Personalized treatment of ccRCC requires detailed molecular classification to inform a specific therapy. Methods: Molecular subtyping of ccRCC was performed based on consensus clustering of pyroptosis-related genes. The characteristics of these molecular subtypes were explored at the genome, transcriptome and protein levels. Single-cell RNA sequencing and CIBERSORT analysis were used to analyse the immune microenvironment of ccRCC, while Lasso regression was used to develop a prediction model based on hub genes. Expression of the pyroptosis-related gene GSDMB was also investigated at the tissue and cellular levels. Results: Two molecular subtypes were identified based on the clustering of pyroptosis-related genes. Cluster 1 was associated with activation of classical oncogenic pathways, especially the angiogenesis pathway. Cluster 2 was associated with activation of immune-related pathways and high levels of immunosuppressive cells, exhausted CD8+ T cells, and tumor-associated fibroblast infiltration. Clusters 1 and 2 were thus defined as the angiogenic and inflamed subtypes, respectively. The two subtypes were predictive of the response of ccRCC to anti-angiogenic therapy and immunotherapy, with Cluster 1 patients benefiting from anti-angiogenic therapy and Cluster 2 patients showing better response to anti-PD1 inhibitor therapy. Furthermore, a 9-gene expression signature (HJURP, NUF2, KIF15, MELK, TPX2, PLK1, CDCA3, CTLA4, FOXP3) was identified that could predict outcome and response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in test cohorts. Finally, GSDMB was found to be involved in the development of renal clear cell carcinoma. Conclusions: These results on pyroptosis-related genes in ccRCC provide a theoretical basis for understanding molecular heterogeneity and for the development of individualized treatment strategies.

Keywords
pyroptosis
immune microenvironment
immunotherapy
clear cell renal carcinoma
Funding
82172000/National Natural Science Foundation of China
81971135/National Natural Science Foundation of China
U20A20385/National Natural Science Foundation of China
21JR11RA172/Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province
Figures
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