Background
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are vital components of prominent cellular components in lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) that contribute to LGGs' progression, treatment resistance, and immunosuppression. Epigenetic modification and immunity have significant implications for tumorigenesis and development.
Conclusion
Our study reveals characteristics of CAFs in LGGs, refines the direct link between epigenetics and tumor stroma, and might provide clinical implications for guiding tailored anti-CAFs therapy in combination with immunotherapy for LGGs patients.
Methods
We combined aberrant methylation and CAFs abundances to build a prognostic model and the impact on the biological properties of LGGs. Grouping based on the median CAFs abundances score of samples in the TCGA-LGGs dataset, differentially expressed genes and aberrantly methylated genes were combined for subsequent analysis.
Results
We identified five differentially methylated and expressed genes (LAT32, SWAP70, GSAP, EMP3, and SLC2A10) and established a prognostic gene signature validated in the CGGA-LGGs dataset. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in vitro tests were performed to verify these expressions. The high-risk group increased in tumor-promoting immune cells and tumor mutational burden. Notably, risk stratification had different ICB sensitivities in LGGs, and there were also significant sensitivity differences for temozolomide and the other three novel chemotherapeutic agents.