Comprehensive Analysis of Pyroptosis-Related Genes and Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration Characterization in Breast Cancer

• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.748221
• Publication Date: 2021-10-01T05:08:35Z
• Authors: JianBin Wu; Yuanyuan Zhu; MingMin Luo; Lei Li
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI); pyroptosis; Gene Expression Profiling; Immunology; Breast Neoplasms; RC581-607; Prognosis; Severity of Illness Index; 3. Good health; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; 03 medical and health sciences; breast cancer; Disease Progression; Pyroptosis; Tumor Microenvironment; tumor microenvironment; Cluster Analysis; Humans; Female; immunotherapy; Immunotherapy; Immunologic diseases. Allergy

BackgroundImmunotherapy has emerged as a significant strategy to treat numerous tumors. The positive response to immunotherapy depends on the dynamic interaction between tumor cells and infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Pyroptosis, inflammation-induced cell death, is intricately associated with several tumors. However, the relationship between pyroptosis and clinical prognosis, immune cell infiltration, and immunotherapy effect is unclear in breast cancer (BRCA).MethodsWe comprehensively evaluated 33 pyroptosis-related genes and systematically assessed the relationship between pyroptosis and tumor progression, prognosis, and immune cell infiltration. The PyroptosisScore was used to quantify the pyroptosis pattern of a single tumor patient. We then assessed their values for predicting prognoses and therapeutic responses in BRCA.ResultsThree different modes of PyroptosisClusters were determined. The characteristics of TME cell infiltration in these three PyroptosisClusters were highly consistent with three immunophenotypes of tumors, including immune-excluded, immune-inflamed, and immune-desert phenotypes. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis revealed that patients with a low PyroptosisScore had higher immune checkpoint expression, higher immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) scores, increased immune microenvironment infiltration, and were more sensitive to immunotherapy than those with a high PyroptosisScore.ConclusionsOur findings revealed the crucial role of pyroptosis in maintaining the diversity and complexity of TME. Pyroptosis is closely related to tumor progression, tumor prognosis, and immunotherapy response. Evaluating the PyroptosisScore of a single tumor can assist in understanding the characteristics of TME infiltration and lead to the development of more effective immunotherapy strategies.