Among them, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) accounts for 75–80% of all RCC.
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common and highly malignant tumor of the urinary system. Our study for the first time elucidates the biological function and prognostic significance of mitochondrial molecules associated with oxidative stress and provides a new protocol for evaluating treatment strategies targeting mitochondria in ccRCC patients. We also found that the expression levels of these prognostic MTGs were significantly associated with drug sensitivity in multiple ccRCC cell lines. Moreover, we found that there were significant differences in immune cell infiltration between the low- and high-risk groups based on the signature and that ccRCC patients in the low-risk group responded better to immunotherapy than those in the high-risk group (46.59% vs 35.34%, ). Stratified analysis based on different clinical variables indicated that the signature could be used to evaluate tumor progression in ccRCC. Kaplan-Meier survival and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses showed that the signature could accurately distinguish patients with poor prognosis and had good individual risk stratification and prognostic potential. Further analysis screened 6 prognostic-related MTGs ( ACAD11, ACADSB, BID, PYCR1, SLC25A27, and STAR) and was used to develop a signature. A total of 75 differentially expressed MTGs were analyzed from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, including 46 upregulated and 29 downregulated MTGs. In this study, we aimed to explore the molecular characteristics and prognostic significance of mitochondrial genes (MTGs) related to oxidative stress in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Its dysfunction can lead to a variety of diseases and promote cancer and metastasis.
Mitochondria not only are the main source of ATP synthesis but also regulate cellular redox balance and calcium homeostasis.