Constructing novel molecular subtypes and an 11-gene signature based on pyroptosis signaling for lung adenocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT

Pyroptosis plays important roles in various cancers. In this study, we focused on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and aimed to develop new molecular subtypes based on pyroptosis signaling. Pyroptosis-related genes were used as a basis to classify molecular subtypes through unsupervised consensus clustering. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed to characterize tumor microenvironment (TME) and functional pathways. Univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis were conducted to identify prognostic genes for establishing a prognostic model. Three molecular subtypes were established with distinct overall survival, TME and enriched pathways. C3 subtype had the longest survival and the highest immune infiltration. 11 prognostic genes were screened to build a prognostic signature for predicting LUAD prognosis. This study emphasized the important role of pyroptosis in LUAD development. Pyroptosis was considered to play critical roles in regulating TME. Moreover, the 11-gene signature could serve as an indicator for predicting LUAD prognosis, and was potential targets for developing targeted drugs.