AUTHOR=Pan Junfan , Huang Zhidong , Xu Yiquan 

TITLE=m5C RNA Methylation Regulators Predict Prognosis and Regulate the Immune Microenvironment in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.657466

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.657466

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>RNA methylation is a novel epigenetic modification that can be used to evaluate tumor prognosis. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the genetic characteristics of 5-methylcytosine (m5C) and N1-methyladenosine (m1A) regulators in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and the prognostic value and immune-related effects of m5C regulators. To this end, we selected the public LUSC dataset from the Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression model was used to identify prognostic risk signatures. We used the UALCAN and Human Protein Atlas databases to study the expression of target gene mRNA/protein expression. Furthermore, the Tumor Immune Single Cell Hub and the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource were used to evaluate the degree of immune cell infiltration. Most of the m5C and m1A regulators showed significantly different expression between LUSC and normal samples. The m5C regulators were associated with poor prognosis. In addition, a prognostic risk signature was developed based on two m5C regulators, NOP2/Sun RNA methyltransferase 3 (<italic>NSUN3</italic>), and NOP2/Sun RNA methyltransferase 4 (<italic>NSUN4</italic>). Compared with normal lung tissues, the expression of <italic>NSUN3</italic> and <italic>NSUN4</italic> in the LUSC TCGA dataset was increased, which was related to clinicopathological characteristics and survival. <italic>NSUN3</italic> and <italic>NSUN4</italic> were related to the infiltration of six major immune cells; especially <italic>NSUN3</italic>, which was closely related to CD8+ T cells, while <italic>NSUN4</italic> was closely related to neutrophils. Our findings suggest that m5C regulators can predict the clinical prognosis risk and regulate the tumor immune microenvironment in LUSC.</p>