AUTHOR=Liao Liangliang , Gao Yongjian , Su Jie , Feng Ye 

TITLE=By characterizing metabolic and immune microenvironment reveal potential prognostic markers in the development of colorectal cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.822835

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.822835

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world and survival rates vary significantly between early and advanced stage patients. Therefore, the identification of the pathogenesis in the development of COAD and prognostic markers is urgently demanded. Herein, we collected RNA-seq and somatic mutation data of COAD for statistical analysis. Clinical stage-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and tumor development-dependent DEGs were identified. By characterizing the metabolic and immune features of COAD between stages, we found that the energy supply and inflammatory response of advanced tumors were suppressed. Next, the <italic>ETS1, AR, GATA1, GATA2, SREBF1, FOXP3, STAT4,</italic> and <italic>NFKB1</italic> were identified to drive the metabolic and immune-related pathways in the development of COAD. The three potential prognostic markers (<italic>HOXC8, IRF7,</italic> and <italic>CXCL13</italic>) were identified based on Cox regression analysis. Additionally, immune infiltration analysis revealed that the resting CD4<sup>+</sup> T cell was significantly related to the overall survival (OS) of COAD patients. Collectively, the specific metabolic and immune characteristics of advanced patients and the identified prognostic biomarkers will contribute to the development of precision medicine.</p>