Disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs are potential biomarkers for predicting prognoses in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Objective : Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. Disulfidptosis is a newly discovered mechanism of programmed cell death. However, the role of disulfidptosis - related lncRNAs (DRlncRNAs) in HCC remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to establish the prognostic model of DRlncRNAs and explore its prognostic value in HCC. Materials and methods: The relevant clinical data and RNA-seq were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The DRlncRNAs were identified via univariate and multivariate Cox regression, lasso algorithm analysis, and then established the prognostic model. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, principal component analysis (PCA), univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, functional enrichment annotation and the nomogram were used to assess the reliability of risk model. Furthermore, the potential immunotherapeutic signatures and drug sensitivity prediction were also performed. The RT-qPCR was applied to identify the expression of DRlncRNAs. Results : We constructed a prognostic model with 7 DRlncRNAs and proved the model could well predict the survival and prognosis of HCC patients. Immune correlation analysis suggested that low-risk patients had better immunotherapeutic outcomes. Drug prediction showed that Erlotinib, Gefitinib, Savolitinib, Osimertinib, Lapatinib, Afatinib and Crizotinib were more effective in low-risk patients; Sorafenib, Selumetinib, and Axitinib were more effective in high-risk patients. Finally, the expression of DRlncRNAs in normal liver and HCC cell lines were testified by RT-qPCR. Discussion and Conclusions : We constructed a risk model and provided a new direction for diagnosing and treating HCC.