Multi-omics characterization identifies AHCY as a prognostic biomarker driving immunometabolic reprogramming in
Qiao Peng1, Mengmei Zhang2, Shuyu Zhao3
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Introduction:
Bladder cancer (BLCA) is a heterogeneous malignancy with poor prognosis and limited biomarkers for risk stratification and therapy guidance. Adenosylhomocysteinase (AHCY), a key enzyme in the methionine cycle, has been implicated in tumor progression and epigenetic regulation, but its clinical and biological significance in BLCA remains unclear.
Methods:
We performed an integrative pan-cancer and BLCA-focused analysis using TCGA, GTEx, and multiple independent datasets. Multi-omics data, including transcriptomic, genomic, epigenetic, immune, and drug sensitivity profiles, were systematically analyzed. Prognostic associations were evaluated by Cox and Kaplan-Meier analyses, and in vitro knockdown assays were conducted to assess AHCY function in BLCA cells.
Results:
AHCY was significantly upregulated across diverse cancers and correlated with poor overall, disease-specific, and progression-free survival. In BLCA, AHCY overexpression was driven by copy number amplification and promoter hypomethylation, and was associated with enhanced cell cycle progression, DNA replication, and pyrimidine metabolism, while negatively linked to apoptosis and immune activation. High AHCY expression correlated with immune infiltration but impaired effector responses, predicted poor immunotherapy outcomes, and conferred resistance to chemotherapeutics and targeted agents across PRISM, CTRP, and GDSC datasets. Functional assays confirmed that AHCY depletion suppressed proliferation, induced apoptosis, and promoted ferroptosis by downregulating SLC7A11 and upregulating ACSL4 and 4-HNE.
Conclusions:
Our findings identify AHCY as a prognostic biomarker and immunometabolic regulator in BLCA, linking methionine metabolism to tumor progression, immune suppression, and drug resistance. AHCY holds promise as a therapeutic target and companion biomarker for precision oncology.
