Integrative Analysis Reveals BPTF, COL1A1, and COL4A2 as Fibroblast-Related Biomarkers Associated with Immune Infiltration in Ovarian Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: As fibroblasts constitute a crucial component of the tumor microenvironment (TME), identifying fibroblast-related genes may help elucidate the mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer (OC) progression. METHODS: The single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data (GSE184880) and bulk transcriptomic data (GSE66957) for OC were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We then performed single-cell data analysis to analyze the infiltration profiles of cell subpopulations and applied CellChat to map their interaction networks. High-dimensional WGCNA (hdWGCNA) was used to screen module genes related to fibroblasts in OC. Key genes associated with both OC progression and fibroblasts, as potential biomarkers, were screened by LASSO. CIBERSORT analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship between the key genes and immune infiltration. RESULTS: Among the eight subpopulations identified in OC samples, cell-cell communication between T cells and fibroblasts was primarily mediated by CD99-CD99 and HLAC-KIR2DL3. Three key genes (BPTF, COL1A1, and COL4A2) were identified using hdWGCNA and LASSO. DISCUSSION: BPTF, COL1A1, and COL4A2 were identified as crucial fibroblast-related markers in OC. These genes may contribute to the tumor immune microenvironment and malignant progression of OC. However, their prognostic value and association with immunotherapy response require further validation in independent survival cohorts and treatment-response datasets. CONCLUSION: This study discovered three key fibroblast-related genes associated with OC progression and immune cell infiltration. These findings offer potential biomarkers and a theoretical foundation for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for OC.