Abstract
BACKGROUND: Synapse-associated proteins (SAPs) play important roles in central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Recent studies have reported that γ-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) synapses also play critical roles in the development of gliomas. However, biomarkers of GABAergic synapses in low-grade gliomas (LGGs) have not yet been reported. METHODS: mRNA data from normal brain tissue and gliomas were obtained from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases, respectively. A validation dataset was also obtained from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) database. The expression patterns of GABAergic synapse-related genes (GSRGs) were evaluated with difference analysis in LGGs. Then, a GABAergic synapse-related risk signature (GSRS) was constructed with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis. According to the expression value and coefficients of identified GSRGs, the risk scores of all LGG samples were calculated. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate related risk scores for prognostic ability. Correlations between characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and risk scores were explored with single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and immunity profiles in LGGs. The GSRS-related pathways were investigated by gene set variation analysis (GSVA). Real-time PCR and the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database were applied to explore related expression of hub genes selected in the GSRS. RESULTS: Compared with normal brain samples, 25 genes of 31 GSRGs were differentially expressed in LGG samples. A constructed five-gene GSRS was related to clinicopathological features and prognosis of LGGs by the LASSO algorithm. It was shown that the risk score level was positively related to the infiltrating level of native CD4 T cells and activated dendritic cells. GSVA identified several cancer-related pathways associated with the GSRS, such as P53 pathways and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Additionally, CA2, PTEN, OXTR, and SLC6A1 (hub genes identified in the GSRS) were regarded as the potential predictors in LGGs. CONCLUSION: A new five-gene GSRS was identified and verified by bioinformatics methods. The GSRS provides a new perspective in LGG that may contribute to more accurate prediction of prognosis of LGGs.