Identification of the cuproptosis related prognostic gene signature and the associated regulation axis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract Background The most common type of renal cell carcinoma is clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), which has a poor prognosis. In addition to regulating tumor cells' growth and metabolism, cuproptosis can also affect patients' prognosis. However, the function of cuproptosis-related genes(CRGs) in ccRCC remains unclear. Methods Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was used to evaluate CRGs expression level, prognostic value and relationship with tumor immune infiltration. Furthermore, we constructed prognostic gene models and ceRNA networks based on bioinformatics analysis. Results In ccRCC, we found a total of 16 CRGs up-regulation or down-regulation. We also focused on the mutation of CRGs in ccRCC. Based on prognosis analysis, these genes were associated with ccRCC prognosis. We subsequently constructed a prognostic CRGs model to predict the prognosis of ccRCC patients. Immunocorrelation studies revealed the correlation between CRGs and tumor immune infiltration. The lncRNA OIP5-AS1/miR-222-3p/DBT regulatory axis was constructed in ccRCC. We also verified the expression of DBT and lncRNA OIP5-AS1 in ccRCC cell lines via the qRT-PCR method. Conclusions Through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, we analyzed the expression and prognostic value of CRGs in ccRCC, and identified the prognostic CRGs signature of ccRCC patients, including NLRP3, FDX1, LIPT2, GLS, CDKN2A, DBT and GCSH. Our follow-up study also found an lncRNA OIP5-AS1/ Mir-222-3p /DBT regulatory axis, which may explain the internal mechanism of CRGs involved in regulating the progression of ccRCC.