Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer

BackgroundThe goal of this study was to develop a predictive signature using genes associated with fatty acid metabolism to evaluate the prognosis of individuals with gastric cancer (GC).MethodA total of 24 prognostic-related genes were identified by intersecting differentially expressed genes with...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Huahuan Liu, Xin Hu, Xiangnan Zhang, Yanxin Yao, Liuxing Wu, Ye Tian, Hongji Dai, Kexin Chen, Ben Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1570873/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849325481960144896
author Huahuan Liu
Xin Hu
Xin Hu
Xiangnan Zhang
Yanxin Yao
Liuxing Wu
Ye Tian
Hongji Dai
Kexin Chen
Ben Liu
author_facet Huahuan Liu
Xin Hu
Xin Hu
Xiangnan Zhang
Yanxin Yao
Liuxing Wu
Ye Tian
Hongji Dai
Kexin Chen
Ben Liu
author_sort Huahuan Liu
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe goal of this study was to develop a predictive signature using genes associated with fatty acid metabolism to evaluate the prognosis of individuals with gastric cancer (GC).MethodA total of 24 prognostic-related genes were identified by intersecting differentially expressed genes with 525 fatty acid metabolism (FAM) -related genes and applying a univariate Cox proportional hazards model. By performing consensus clustering of 24 genes associated with FAM, two distinct clusters of GC patients were identified. Subsequently, a risk model was constructed using 39 differentially expressed mRNAs from the two clusters through a random forest model and univariate Cox regression.ResultsAn R package, “GCFAMS”, was developed to assess GC patients’ prognosis based on FAM gene expression. The low-risk group exhibited a more favorable prognosis compared to the high-risk group across various datasets (P < 0.05). The model demonstrated strong predictive performance, with AUC values of 0.86, 0.623, and 0.508 for 5-year survival prediction in the training and two validation datasets. The high-risk group displayed lower IC50 values for embelin and imatinib, suggesting the potential efficacy of these drugs in this subgroup. Conversely, the low-risk group demonstrated an elevated response to immune checkpoints blockade therapy and a higher immunophenoscore, which was further validated in additional cancer cohorts. Public data from single-cell RNA sequencing confirmed that the characterized genes were predominantly expressed in endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Furthermore, the integration of transcriptomics and metabolomics revealed notable variations in fatty acid levels between the clusters, underscoring the clinical relevance of our fatty acid metabolism signature in shaping the metabolic profiles of GC patients.ConclusionThis developed FAM signature demonstrated potential as a biomarker for guiding treatment and predicting prognosis in GC.
format Article
id doaj-art-3dde28189aa248dd8ab8c7eb85893370
institution Kabale University
issn 2234-943X
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Oncology
spelling doaj-art-3dde28189aa248dd8ab8c7eb858933702025-08-20T03:48:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oncology2234-943X2025-05-011510.3389/fonc.2025.15708731570873Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancerHuahuan Liu0Xin Hu1Xin Hu2Xiangnan Zhang3Yanxin Yao4Liuxing Wu5Ye Tian6Hongji Dai7Kexin Chen8Ben Liu9Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaCenter for Single-Cell Omics and Tumor Liquid Biopsy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Human Major Diseases, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, ChinaBackgroundThe goal of this study was to develop a predictive signature using genes associated with fatty acid metabolism to evaluate the prognosis of individuals with gastric cancer (GC).MethodA total of 24 prognostic-related genes were identified by intersecting differentially expressed genes with 525 fatty acid metabolism (FAM) -related genes and applying a univariate Cox proportional hazards model. By performing consensus clustering of 24 genes associated with FAM, two distinct clusters of GC patients were identified. Subsequently, a risk model was constructed using 39 differentially expressed mRNAs from the two clusters through a random forest model and univariate Cox regression.ResultsAn R package, “GCFAMS”, was developed to assess GC patients’ prognosis based on FAM gene expression. The low-risk group exhibited a more favorable prognosis compared to the high-risk group across various datasets (P < 0.05). The model demonstrated strong predictive performance, with AUC values of 0.86, 0.623, and 0.508 for 5-year survival prediction in the training and two validation datasets. The high-risk group displayed lower IC50 values for embelin and imatinib, suggesting the potential efficacy of these drugs in this subgroup. Conversely, the low-risk group demonstrated an elevated response to immune checkpoints blockade therapy and a higher immunophenoscore, which was further validated in additional cancer cohorts. Public data from single-cell RNA sequencing confirmed that the characterized genes were predominantly expressed in endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Furthermore, the integration of transcriptomics and metabolomics revealed notable variations in fatty acid levels between the clusters, underscoring the clinical relevance of our fatty acid metabolism signature in shaping the metabolic profiles of GC patients.ConclusionThis developed FAM signature demonstrated potential as a biomarker for guiding treatment and predicting prognosis in GC.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1570873/fullgastric cancerfatty acid metabolismmulti-omics technologiesimmunotherapysingle-cell transcriptomics
spellingShingle Huahuan Liu
Xin Hu
Xin Hu
Xiangnan Zhang
Yanxin Yao
Liuxing Wu
Ye Tian
Hongji Dai
Kexin Chen
Ben Liu
Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
Frontiers in Oncology
gastric cancer
fatty acid metabolism
multi-omics technologies
immunotherapy
single-cell transcriptomics
title Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
title_full Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
title_fullStr Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
title_full_unstemmed Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
title_short Unveiling fatty acid subtypes: immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
title_sort unveiling fatty acid subtypes immunometabolic interplay and therapeutic opportunities in gastric cancer
topic gastric cancer
fatty acid metabolism
multi-omics technologies
immunotherapy
single-cell transcriptomics
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1570873/full
work_keys_str_mv AT huahuanliu unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT xinhu unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT xinhu unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT xiangnanzhang unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT yanxinyao unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT liuxingwu unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT yetian unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT hongjidai unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT kexinchen unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer
AT benliu unveilingfattyacidsubtypesimmunometabolicinterplayandtherapeuticopportunitiesingastriccancer