High expression of RNF31 is associated with tumor immune cell infiltration and leads to poor prognosis in liver hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Ring finger protein 31 (RNF31) has been found to play an important role in tumor immunity. However, the role of RNF31 in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) has not been reported. Therefore, we investigated the expression and prognostic value of RNF31 in patients with LIHC and explored its relationship with immune cell infiltration. The Cancer Genome Atlas liver hepatocellular carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) dataset was downloaded to analyse the impact of RNF31 on the prognosis and immune cell infiltration of LIHC. The Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database was used to analyse the correlation between RNF31 and tumor immune cell infiltration in LIHC. Additionally, we analysed the relationship between RNF31 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) as well as the interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) signaling pathway. The expression of RNF31 in LIHC was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. Increased RNF31 expression was associated with decreased overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). An increase in RNF31 expression was closely related to the infiltration levels of immune cells (e.g., natural killer (NK) cells, CD8 + T cells, and B cells). RNF31 was also positively correlated with the expression of immune checkpoint genes in LIHC. Moreover, RNF31 may participate in TNF and IFN-γ signaling pathways. In conclusion, RNF31 is a potentially valuable prognostic biomarker in LIHC. RNF31 is also associated with immune cell infiltration in LIHC. RNF31 may be a potential target for immunotherapy of LIHC.