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Updated: Jul 30, 2025
A Three-Dimensional Spheroid Model to Investigate the Tumor-Stromal Interaction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Published on: September 30, 2021
Development and validation of a selenium metabolism regulators associated prognostic model for hepatocellular
Huishan Sun1,2, Junyu Long1, Bangyou Zuo3
1Department of Liver Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Background:
Selenium metabolism has been implicated in human health. This study aimed to identify a selenium metabolism regulator-based prognostic signature for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and validate the role of INMT in HCC.
Methods:
Transcriptome sequencing data and clinical information related to selenium metabolism regulators in TCGA liver cancer dataset were analysed. Next, a selenium metabolism model was constructed by multiple machine learning algorithms, including univariate, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Then, the potential of this model for predicting the immune landscape of different risk groups was evaluated. Finally, INMT expression was examined in different datasets. After knockdown of INMT, cell proliferation and colony formation assays were conducted.
Results:
A selenium metabolism model containing INMT and SEPSECS was established and shown to be an independent predictor of prognosis. The survival time of low-risk patients was significantly longer than that of high-risk patients. These two groups had different immune environments. In different datasets, including TCGA, GEO, and our PUMCH dataset, INMT was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues. Moreover, knockdown of INMT significantly promoted HCC cell proliferation.
Conclusions:
The current study established a risk signature of selenium metabolism regulators for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients. INMT was identified as a biomarker for poor prognosis of HCC.
