Generation and Analysis of Pyroptosis-Based and Immune-Based Signatures for Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma Patients, and Cell Experiment

Abstract

Background: Pyroptosis is a programmed cell death caused by inflammasomes, which is closely related to immune responses and tumor progression. The present study aimed to construct dual prognostic indices based on pyroptosis-associated and immune-associated genes and to investigate the impact of the biological signatures of these genes on Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma (KIRC).Materials and Methods: All the KIRC samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were randomly and equally divided into the training and testing datasets. Cox and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis were used to screen crucial pyroptosis-associated genes (PAGs), and a pyroptosis-associated genes prognostic index (PAGsPI) was constructed. Immune-associated genes (IAGs) related to PAGs were identified, and then screened through Cox and LASSO regression analyses, and an immune-associated genes prognostic index (IAGsPI) was developed. These two prognostic indices were verified by using the testing and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and an independent cohort. The patients’ response to immunotherapy was analyzed. A nomogram was constructed and calibrated. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of PAGs and IAGs in the tumor tissues and normal tissues. Functional experiment was carried out.Results: 86 PAGs and 1,774 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained. After intersecting PAGs with DEGs, 22 differentially expressed PAGs (DEPAGs) were included in Cox and LASSO regression analyses, identifying 5 crucial PAGs. The PAGsPI was generated. Patients in the high-PAGsPI group had a poor prognosis. 82 differentially expressed IAGs (DEIAGs) were highly correlated with DEPAGs. 7 key IAGs were screened out, and an IAGsPI was generated. Patients in the high-IAGsPI group had a poor prognosis. PAGsPI and IAGsPI were verified to be robust and reliable. The results revealed patients in low-PAGsPI group and high-IAGsPI group may be more sensitive to immunotherapy. The calibrated nomogram was proved to be reliable. An independent cohort study also proved that PAGsPI and IAGsPI performed well in prognosis prediction. We found that the expression of AIM2 may affect proliferation of KIRC cells.Conclusion: PAGsPI and IAGsPI could be regarded as potential biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of patients with KIRC.