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Cancer-Associated Fibroblast-Related Genes Are Associated with Prognosis of Patients with Ovarian Cancer

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)-related genes on prognosis and immunity in ovarian cancer. The gene expression profile data and clinical data of ovarian cancer were obtained from TCGA and GEO databases. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between tumor and normal tissues were selected, and the infiltration of immune cells, stromal cells and CAFs in each sample was evaluated. WGCNA was used for CAFs signature genes identification. CAFs score was calculated, followed by comparison of prognosis, immune cells, pathway and drug susceptibility between CAFs score-high and -low groups. There were significant differences in immune and stromal score as well as CAFs ratio between two groups. A total of 6474 DEGs were identified. By WGCNA, six CAFs signature genes, including MMP1, DPYSL4, PDGFRA, OGN, FBXL7 and NUDT10, were identified. CAFs score was an independent prognostic factor. There was a significant correlation between the actual prognosis and the different CAFs score groups. The proportion of five immune cells was significantly different between two CAFs score groups. Nine signaling pathways, such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis, were different between two groups. Five chemotherapeutic drugs, such as paclitaxel and gefitinib, were found to be significantly different in IC50 levels between two groups. The six CAFs signature genes, including MMP1, DPYSL4, PDGFRA, OGN, FBXL7 and NUDT10, may serve as prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets of ovarian cancer.

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DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENTS

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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Funding

This work was supported by ongoing institutional funding. No additional grants to carry out or direct this particular research were obtained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynecology, Yichang Central People’s Hospital, The First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, 443000, Yichang, Hubei, China

    J. Bai, Z. J. Jiang, X. P. Zhao & Y. Z. Luo

  2. Department of Ultrasound, Yichang Central People’s Hospital, The First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, 443000, Yichang, Hubei, China

    N. N. Wang

  3. Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Yichang Central People’s Hospital, The First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, 443000, Yichang, Hubei, China

    A. J. Chen

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  1. J. Bai
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Contributions

Jing Bai, Aijun Chen and Youzhen Luo carried out the conception and design of the research, Zhijun Jiang participated in the acquisition of data. Xiuping Zhao carried out the analysis and interpretation of data. Nana Wang participated in the design of the study and performed the statistical analysis. Jing Bai, Aijun Chen and Youzhen Luo conceived of the study, and participated in its design and coordination and drafted the manuscript and revision of manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to A. J. Chen or Y. Z. Luo.

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Bai, J., Jiang, Z.J., Zhao, X.P. et al. Cancer-Associated Fibroblast-Related Genes Are Associated with Prognosis of Patients with Ovarian Cancer. Russ J Genet 59 (Suppl 2), S208–S218 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1022795423140028

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