Integrated profiling identifies ferredoxin 1 as an immune-related biomarker of malignant phenotype in glioma

Dongcheng Xie ¹, Hailong Huang ¹, Youwei Guo ¹

⁰Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Heliyon +

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March 11, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) is upregulated in glioma, correlating with poor prognosis and increased immune cell infiltration. Targeting FDX1 may offer new therapeutic strategies for this challenging brain tumor.

Area Of Science

Neuro-oncology
Cancer immunology
Cell death mechanisms

Background

Glioma is a challenging central nervous system tumor known for resistance to treatment and high recurrence rates.
Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) plays a role in cuproptosis (a cell death pathway), but its prognostic significance in glioma and impact on tumor immunity are unclear.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the prognostic value of FDX1 in glioma.
To explore the relationship between FDX1 expression and tumor immune infiltration.
To elucidate the biological function of FDX1 in glioma cells.

Main Methods

Pan-cancer data analysis using public databases.
Gene expression analysis via tissue microarray and single-cell sequencing.
Prognostic assessment, differential gene expression, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA).
Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB) and immune cell infiltration analysis.
In vitro experiments on FDX1 knockdown in glioma cells.

Main Results

FDX1 was upregulated in glioma and associated with poor prognosis and adverse clinicopathological features.
Immune-related signaling pathways were enriched, linking FDX1 expression to mutation frequency and TMB.
Higher FDX1 expression correlated with increased immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint regulation.
In vitro knockdown of FDX1 inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle progression.

Conclusions

FDX1 expression is positively associated with glioma malignancy and altered immune cell infiltration.
FDX1 may serve as a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target in glioma.

Keywords:

Biomarker FDX1 Glioma Malignant phenotype Prognosis