TRIM25-mediated ferroptosis resistance is closely associated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

TRIM25 has been reported to promote hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell survival by activating the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. However, its expression profile in clinical HCC specimens and its potential role in regulating ferroptosis remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to determine the expression pattern of TRIM25 in primary HCC and its association with clinicopathological features and prognosis, utilizing both bioinformatic analysis and experimental validation in clinical samples and cell lines. In parallel, we investigated the regulatory effect of TRIM25 on ferroptosis in HCC cells, thereby offering experimental insights that could inform prognosis assessment and the development of targeted therapies for HCC.

To investigate the expression pattern of TRIM25 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical relevance, we obtained RNA-seq data and corresponding clinical staging information from The Cancer Genome Atlas. After data normalization, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was applied to assess TRIM25 expression differences across tumor stages. Transcriptomic data were also retrieved from the International Cancer Genome Consortium, and following normalization, the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare TRIM25 expression between HCC tumors and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues. Overall survival was evaluated in the TCGA cohort using Kaplan-Meier curves, with comparisons between high- and low-TRIM25 expression groups conducted via the log-rank test. Paired tumor and adjacent tissues from 12 HCC patients who underwent curative resection were collected. TRIM25 expression was analyzed at the protein level by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, and at the mRNA level by RT-qPCR. In vitro, liver cancer cell models with TRIM25 knockdown or overexpression were established. The effects of TRIM25 modulation on cell proliferation and ferroptosis susceptibility were assessed using CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays, and ferroptosis-related biochemical markers.

In the TCGA cohort, TRIM25 expression was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in adjacent normal tissues and progressively increased with advancing tumor stage. This finding was further validated in the ICGC cohort, in which TRIM25 expression was also significantly higher in tumor tissues than in matched adjacent non-tumor tissues. In the TCGA cohort, high TRIM25 expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival in patients with HCC. Clinical specimen analysis confirmed that TRIM25 was upregulated in HCC tissues at both mRNA and protein levels. In vitro, TRIM25 silencing suppressed liver cancer cell proliferation and increased ferroptosis-related phenotypes, as indicated by increased ferrous iron and MDA levels, reduced GSH content and SOD activity, and elevated ROS and lipid peroxidation. Conversely, TRIM25 overexpression promoted proliferation, attenuated ferroptosis-related phenotypes, and reduced oxidative stress.

TRIM25 is highly upregulated in HCC and significantly associated with poor clinical prognosis. Functionally, TRIM25 promotes tumor cell survival by reducing the sensitivity of HCC cells to ferroptosis. These findings suggest that TRIM25 may serve as a promising prognostic indicator and a potential therapeutic target for modulating ferroptosis pathways in HCC.