Integrated Multi-Omics Analysis Uncovers Immune-Metabolic Interplay in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumor...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genomics
• Immunology
• Epigenetics

Background:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent and lethal liver malignancy.
• Understanding the tumor microenvironment (TME) is crucial for HCC treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the immune and metabolic features of the HCC TME.
• To identify key genes and epigenetic modifications influencing HCC progression.

Main Methods:

• Integrated multi-omics analysis of 60 HCC patient tumor samples.
• Stratification based on immune activity score.
• Differential gene expression and methylation analysis.
• Single-cell RNA sequencing.

Main Results:

• Identified metabolism-related genes (AGXT2, DPYS) and an immune-related gene (TNFSF8).
• Increased expression of these genes, driven by hypomethylation, correlated with specific TME profiles.
• Higher expression of identified genes linked to favorable patient prognosis.

Conclusions:

• Metabolic pathways and epigenetic regulation of immune genes interplay to shape the HCC TME and clinical outcomes.
• Identified genes represent potential therapeutic targets for HCC.
• Multi-omics approaches are vital for understanding tumor heterogeneity.