Gene Signature And Prognostic Values of m5C-Related Regulators In Colon Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of 13 m5C-related regulators in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) and determine their prognostic value.Main Methods: Gene expression and clinicopathological data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. The expression of m5C-related regulators were analyzed with clinicopathological characteristics and alterations within m5C-related regulators. Subsequently, different subtypes of patients with COAD were identified. Then, the prognostic value of m5C-related regulators in COAD were confirmed via univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analyses. The prognostic value of risk scores was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and univariate and multivariate regression analyses. Additionally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysisc (GSEA), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes c (KEGG) pathways, and Gene Ontologyc (GO) analysis were performed for biological functional analysis.Results: m5C-related regulators were found to be differentially expressed in COAD with different clinicopathological features. We observed a high alteration frequency in these genes, which were significantly correlated with their mRNA expression levels. Two clusters with different prognostic features were identified. Based on two independent prognostic m5C-related regulators (NSUN6 and ALYREF), a risk signature with good predictive significance was constructed. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses suggested that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor. Biological processes and pathways associated with cancer, immune response, and RNA processing were identified.Conclusion: We revealed the genetic signatures and prognostic values of m5C-related regulators in COAD. Together, this has improved our understanding of m5C RNA modification and provided novel insights to identify predictive biomarkers and develop molecular targeted therapy for COAD.