Electronic Journal of Liver Tumor ›› 2022, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (2): 13-22.

• Original article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The role of nucleotide binding oligomerization domain like receptor protein 6 in the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma based on bioinformatics analysis

Huang Di1, Wu Xueliang1, Li Fei2, Han Shanshan3, Gao Xin4,*   

  1. 1. Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China;
    2. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China;
    3. General Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Emergency Rescue Center, Beijing 100020, China;
    4. Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei, China
  • Received:2022-03-07 Published:2022-10-26

Abstract: Objective:To analyze the expression pattern, biological function and immune cell infiltration relationship of Nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 6 (NLRP6) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were analyzed by bioinformatics.
Method:Multiple public databases were used to analyze the expression pattern and clinical prognostic value of NLRP6 in HCC. The biological function of NLRP6 was analyzed by the Enrichr database. The relationship between NLRP6 expression and HCC immune cell infiltration was analyzed. In addition, a Nomogram model was constructed based on NLRP6 to predict the prognosis of HCC patients.
Result:NLRP6 expression was down-regulated in various cancer types (including HCC) (P<0.05), and its low expression was associated with poor prognosis in HCC (P<0.05). Resultsof Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (EGGK) signaling pathway and gene ontology (GO) analysis reveal that NLRP6 is involved in inflammatory-immunomodulatory responses, including primary immunodeficiency, natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation signal pathway. NLRP6 expression was correlated with B cells (r=-0.202), CD4+ T cells (r=-0.207), CD8+ T cells (r=0.153), neutrophils (r=-0.201), macrophages (r=-0.133 ) and myeloid dendritic cells (r=-0.245) infiltration abundance were significantly correlated and high neutrophil infiltration abundance was associated with worse survival prognosis in HCC patients (P<0.05). The Nomogram model based on NLRP6, age and TNM stage can effectively predict the 1 year, 3 years and 5 years overall survival rates of HCC patients, providing a significant clinical net benefit.
Conclusion:NLRP6 may be involved in the pathogenesis of HCC and is associated with inflammation-immune regulation and immune cell infiltration. The Nomogram model based on NLRP6 can effectively predict the prognosis of HCC patients and provide new ideas for clinicians to treat HCC.

Key words: Nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 6, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Prognosis, Immune infiltration