Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration

BackgroundBladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) represents a highly malignant neoplasm with significant clinical challenges. Necroptosis, a programmed form of cell death, exhibits dual regulatory functions in both tumor immunomodulation and oncogenesis. The precise mechanistic involvement of necroptos...

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Main Authors: Tao Wang, Fei Ding, Kai Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Genetics
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2025.1527907/full
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author Tao Wang
Fei Ding
Kai Sun
author_facet Tao Wang
Fei Ding
Kai Sun
author_sort Tao Wang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundBladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) represents a highly malignant neoplasm with significant clinical challenges. Necroptosis, a programmed form of cell death, exhibits dual regulatory functions in both tumor immunomodulation and oncogenesis. The precise mechanistic involvement of necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) in BLCA pathogenesis remains poorly characterized, prompting our systematic investigation of their potential biological and clinical significance.Methods and resultsWe performed comprehensive bioinformatics analyses utilizing integrated datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation, we curated 159 NRGs and subsequently identified 25 differentially expressed genes functionally implicated in necrotic cell death and extrinsic apoptotic pathways, specifically including influenza A signaling, NOD-like receptor cascades, and related biological processes. Univariate Cox proportional hazards modeling coupled with LASSO regression analysis revealed five prognostically significant NRGs (CAMK2A, CHMP4C, IL33, IRF9, and TRAF5). Based on these genes, we developed a robust prognostic model that can stratify patients into high- and low-risk categories, each exhibiting distinct survival outcomes. This model demonstrated moderate accuracy in prognosis prediction. Immunohistochemical validation in BLCA specimens confirmed dysregulated expression patterns of these five NRGs. Additional analyses uncovered significant correlations between NRG expression profiles and various immunological parameters, including immune cell infiltration patterns and immune checkpoint molecule expression.ConclusionOur study delineates a novel five-gene NRG signature with robust prognostic value in BLCA. These gene determinants appear to critically influence both tumor progression and immune microenvironment, thereby representing promising candidates for therapeutic targeting and future mechanistic exploration in bladder cancer biology.
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spelling doaj-art-40d9768f6f4c43fca504f5292199b7dd2025-08-20T04:00:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Genetics1664-80212025-08-011610.3389/fgene.2025.15279071527907Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltrationTao Wang0Fei Ding1Kai Sun2Department of Oncology, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, ChinaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gansu Provincial Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital, Lanzhou, ChinaDepartment of Oncology, Ganzhou Cancer Hospital, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, ChinaBackgroundBladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) represents a highly malignant neoplasm with significant clinical challenges. Necroptosis, a programmed form of cell death, exhibits dual regulatory functions in both tumor immunomodulation and oncogenesis. The precise mechanistic involvement of necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) in BLCA pathogenesis remains poorly characterized, prompting our systematic investigation of their potential biological and clinical significance.Methods and resultsWe performed comprehensive bioinformatics analyses utilizing integrated datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation, we curated 159 NRGs and subsequently identified 25 differentially expressed genes functionally implicated in necrotic cell death and extrinsic apoptotic pathways, specifically including influenza A signaling, NOD-like receptor cascades, and related biological processes. Univariate Cox proportional hazards modeling coupled with LASSO regression analysis revealed five prognostically significant NRGs (CAMK2A, CHMP4C, IL33, IRF9, and TRAF5). Based on these genes, we developed a robust prognostic model that can stratify patients into high- and low-risk categories, each exhibiting distinct survival outcomes. This model demonstrated moderate accuracy in prognosis prediction. Immunohistochemical validation in BLCA specimens confirmed dysregulated expression patterns of these five NRGs. Additional analyses uncovered significant correlations between NRG expression profiles and various immunological parameters, including immune cell infiltration patterns and immune checkpoint molecule expression.ConclusionOur study delineates a novel five-gene NRG signature with robust prognostic value in BLCA. These gene determinants appear to critically influence both tumor progression and immune microenvironment, thereby representing promising candidates for therapeutic targeting and future mechanistic exploration in bladder cancer biology.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2025.1527907/fullbladder urothelial carcinomanecroptosis-relatedprognostic signaturetumor microenvironment infiltrationimmunohistochemical validation
spellingShingle Tao Wang
Fei Ding
Kai Sun
Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
Frontiers in Genetics
bladder urothelial carcinoma
necroptosis-related
prognostic signature
tumor microenvironment infiltration
immunohistochemical validation
title Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
title_full Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
title_fullStr Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
title_full_unstemmed Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
title_short Construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis-related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
title_sort construction and immunohistochemical validation of a necroptosis related prognostic signature in bladder cancer and its association with tumor immune infiltration
topic bladder urothelial carcinoma
necroptosis-related
prognostic signature
tumor microenvironment infiltration
immunohistochemical validation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2025.1527907/full
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