ncRNAs-mediated high expression of Cuproptosis-Related Gene DLAT correlates with poor prognosis and tumor immune infiltration of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Cuproptosis is defined as a new form of programmed cell death which targets lipoylated TCA cycle proteins and reveals ten cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) of the process. Some of the CRGs have been explored as the prognostic biomarkers of various cancers. To date, HCC is still notorious for its poor prognosis. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that the cuproptosis-related gene DLAT plays critical roles in the initiation and progression of multiple human cancers, whereas the knowledge of DLAT in HCC is still limited. This study first conducted a pan-cancer analysis of DLAT's expression using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. DLAT was differentially expressed in most cancer types and correlated with HCC's poor prognosis. Subsequently, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) contributing to DLAT overexpression were identified by conducting expression analysis, survival analysis, and correlation analysis. Finally, the LINC01278/miR-122-5p/DLAT axis was identified as the most potential upstream ncRNA-related pathway of DLAT in HCC. Moreover, an analysis of DLAT expression concerning immune cell infiltration, immune cell biomarkers, and immune checkpoint expression in HCC was performed. Collectively, our findings elucidated that ncRNAs-mediated upregulation of DLAT is associated with poor prognosis and tumour immune infiltration in HCC.