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Updated: Jul 17, 2025
Digital Spatial Profiling for Characterization of the Microenvironment in Adult-Type Diffusely Infiltrating Glioma
Published on: September 13, 2022
A Four-Gene Panel for the Prediction of Prognosis and Immune Cell Enrichment in Gliomas
Zhiyong Li1,2, Yinghui Jin3, Peidong Zhang1,2
1Department of Neurosurgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, No. 1838, North Guangzhou Avenue, 510515, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Backgrounds:
Gliomas is a deadly disease without effective therapy. Although immunotherapy has provided novel choices for glioma treatment, the curative efficacy is unsatisfactory due to the complex immune micro-environment and the heterogeneity of the disease. Therefore, it is urgent to identify effective biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Methods:
Overall survival, gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes, and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and immune infiltration were analyzed by bioinformatics software with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.
Results:
Based on the TCGA database and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis revealed a four-gene panels [DNA topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A); ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2); kinesin family member 20 A (KIF20A) and DLG associated protein 5 (DLGAP5)], which correlated with poor prognosis, including overall survival (OS), disease specific survival (DSS) and progress free interval (PFI), mitosis, cell cycle, Th2 cells and macrophages enrichment. The four-gene panels correlates with the biomarkers of Th2 cells, macrophages tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and the immune checkpoint molecules in gliomas.
Conclusion:
The four-gene panels represented a novel prognostic indicator and potential therapeutic target for the treatment of glioma. In addition, the four-gene panels might contribute to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in glioma.
Insights
A novel four-gene signature (TOP2A, RRM2, KIF20A, DLGAP5) shows promise as a prognostic indicator for glioma, potentially improving immunotherapy effectiveness in this deadly brain cancer.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Immunotherapy
Background:
- Glioma remains a deadly disease with limited effective therapies.
- Current immunotherapies offer insufficient efficacy due to tumor microenvironment complexity and disease heterogeneity.
- Urgent need exists for identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in glioma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel prognostic biomarkers for glioma.
- To explore potential therapeutic targets for glioma treatment.
- To investigate the role of identified biomarkers in the glioma immune microenvironment.
Main Methods:
- Utilized The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database for comprehensive bioinformatics analysis.
- Performed Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses.
- Conducted Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and immune infiltration analysis.
Main Results:
- A four-gene panel (TOP2A, RRM2, KIF20A, DLGAP5) was identified through TCGA and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis.
- This panel significantly correlated with poor prognosis, including overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI).
- The four-gene panel is associated with enrichment of mitosis, cell cycle, Th2 cells, macrophages, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and immune checkpoint molecules.
Conclusions:
- The identified four-gene panel serves as a novel prognostic indicator for glioma.
- This panel represents a potential therapeutic target for glioma treatment.
- The four-gene panel may enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in glioma patients.
