Cancer Management and Research (May 2024)

The Value of Chemokine and Chemokine Receptors in Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

  • Wu Z,
  • Sun L,
  • Xu Y,
  • Huang H,
  • Wu Z,
  • Qiu B,
  • Yan J,
  • Yin X

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 403 – 420

Abstract

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Zhengyi Wu,* Liang Sun,* Yongkang Xu,* He Huang, Zhipeng Wu, Bingbing Qiu, Jinlong Yan, Xiangbao Yin Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiangbao Yin; Jinlong Yan, Hepatobiliary surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, No. 1, Minde Road, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Chemokines and chemokine receptors (CCRs) are involved in a variety of anti-tumour and pro-tumour immune processes in vivo, such as angiogenesis, metastasis, proliferation and invasiveness, and influence patient prognosis and response to therapy.Methods: CCRs differentially expressed in HCC and associated with prognosis were extracted from TCGA and GEO databases, and the obtained CCRs were then used to construct signature genes, and the signature gene were selected for expression validation as well as functional experiments to explore the role of CCRs in the treatment and prognosis of HCC.Results: We constructed a prognostic model including five CCRs (CCL20, CCL23, CCR3, CCR10, and CXCR3) and validated the expression of signature genes. The model’s risk score is an independent prognostic factor for HCC. We have also developed prognostic model nomograms for clinical use. In addition, we validated that CCR3 expression is associated with poor prognosis in HCC, and the proliferation and migration ability of HCC cells was significantly inhibited after interfering with the expression of CCR3 in MHCC-LM3. We also looked at differences in pathway enrichment, immune infiltration and immune checkpoints. Finally, we found that risk scores were also correlated with drug sensitivity, the high-risk group had a better sensitivity to sorafenib.Conclusion: The CCRs-related gene signature may better assess HCC prognosis and response to immunotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sorafenib in HCC, providing prospective solutions for diagnosis and treatment.Keywords: chemokine, chemokine receptors, prognosis, signature, hepatocellular carcinoma

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