Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis
<b>Background</b>: The increasing incidence and poor outcomes of recurrent thyroid cancer highlight the need for innovative therapies. Ferroptosis, a regulated cell death process linked to the tumour microenvironment (TME), offers a promising antitumour strategy. This study explored immu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Biomedicines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/4/903 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850156187439333376 |
|---|---|
| author | Zixuan Ru Siwei Li Minnan Wang Yanan Ni Hong Qiao |
| author_facet | Zixuan Ru Siwei Li Minnan Wang Yanan Ni Hong Qiao |
| author_sort | Zixuan Ru |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: The increasing incidence and poor outcomes of recurrent thyroid cancer highlight the need for innovative therapies. Ferroptosis, a regulated cell death process linked to the tumour microenvironment (TME), offers a promising antitumour strategy. This study explored immune-related ferroptosis genes (IRFGs) in thyroid cancer to uncover novel therapeutic targets. <b>Methods</b>: CIBERSORTx and WGCNA were applied to data from TCGA-THCA to identify hub genes. A prognostic model composed of IRFGs was constructed using LASSO Cox regression. Pearson correlation was employed to analyse the relationships between IRFGs and immune features. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) revealed gene expression in cell subsets, and qRT–PCR was used for validation. <b>Results</b>: Twelve IRFGs were identified through WGCNA, leading to the classification of thyroid cancer samples into three distinct subtypes. There were significant differences in patient outcomes among these subtypes. A prognostic risk score model was developed based on six key IRFGs (<i>ACSL5</i>, <i>HSD17B11</i>, <i>CCL5</i>, <i>NCF2</i>, <i>PSME1</i>, and <i>ACTB</i>), which were found to be closely associated with immune cell infiltration and immune responses within the TME. The prognostic risk score was identified as a risk factor for thyroid cancer outcomes (HR = 14.737, 95% CI = 1.95–111.65; <i>p</i> = 0.009). ScRNA-seq revealed the predominant expression of these genes in myeloid cells, with differential expression validated using qRT–PCR in thyroid tumour and normal tissues. <b>Conclusions</b>: This study integrates bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data to identify IRFGs and construct a robust prognostic model, offering new therapeutic targets and improving prognostic evaluation for thyroid cancer patients. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-03f1c391dbd44d318fd6d91fada6ccfb |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj-art-03f1c391dbd44d318fd6d91fada6ccfb2025-08-20T02:24:39ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592025-04-0113490310.3390/biomedicines13040903Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive AnalysisZixuan Ru0Siwei Li1Minnan Wang2Yanan Ni3Hong Qiao4Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, ChinaDepartment of Breast Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, ChinaDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, ChinaDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, ChinaDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China<b>Background</b>: The increasing incidence and poor outcomes of recurrent thyroid cancer highlight the need for innovative therapies. Ferroptosis, a regulated cell death process linked to the tumour microenvironment (TME), offers a promising antitumour strategy. This study explored immune-related ferroptosis genes (IRFGs) in thyroid cancer to uncover novel therapeutic targets. <b>Methods</b>: CIBERSORTx and WGCNA were applied to data from TCGA-THCA to identify hub genes. A prognostic model composed of IRFGs was constructed using LASSO Cox regression. Pearson correlation was employed to analyse the relationships between IRFGs and immune features. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) revealed gene expression in cell subsets, and qRT–PCR was used for validation. <b>Results</b>: Twelve IRFGs were identified through WGCNA, leading to the classification of thyroid cancer samples into three distinct subtypes. There were significant differences in patient outcomes among these subtypes. A prognostic risk score model was developed based on six key IRFGs (<i>ACSL5</i>, <i>HSD17B11</i>, <i>CCL5</i>, <i>NCF2</i>, <i>PSME1</i>, and <i>ACTB</i>), which were found to be closely associated with immune cell infiltration and immune responses within the TME. The prognostic risk score was identified as a risk factor for thyroid cancer outcomes (HR = 14.737, 95% CI = 1.95–111.65; <i>p</i> = 0.009). ScRNA-seq revealed the predominant expression of these genes in myeloid cells, with differential expression validated using qRT–PCR in thyroid tumour and normal tissues. <b>Conclusions</b>: This study integrates bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data to identify IRFGs and construct a robust prognostic model, offering new therapeutic targets and improving prognostic evaluation for thyroid cancer patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/4/903immune-related ferroptosisthyroid cancertumour microenvironmentbiomarkerprognostic modelbioinformatics analysis |
| spellingShingle | Zixuan Ru Siwei Li Minnan Wang Yanan Ni Hong Qiao Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis Biomedicines immune-related ferroptosis thyroid cancer tumour microenvironment biomarker prognostic model bioinformatics analysis |
| title | Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis |
| title_full | Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis |
| title_short | Exploring Immune-Related Ferroptosis Genes in Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis |
| title_sort | exploring immune related ferroptosis genes in thyroid cancer a comprehensive analysis |
| topic | immune-related ferroptosis thyroid cancer tumour microenvironment biomarker prognostic model bioinformatics analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/4/903 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zixuanru exploringimmunerelatedferroptosisgenesinthyroidcanceracomprehensiveanalysis AT siweili exploringimmunerelatedferroptosisgenesinthyroidcanceracomprehensiveanalysis AT minnanwang exploringimmunerelatedferroptosisgenesinthyroidcanceracomprehensiveanalysis AT yananni exploringimmunerelatedferroptosisgenesinthyroidcanceracomprehensiveanalysis AT hongqiao exploringimmunerelatedferroptosisgenesinthyroidcanceracomprehensiveanalysis |