Prediction of prognosis, immune infiltration and immunotherapy response with N6-methyladenosine-related lncRNA clustering patterns in cervical cancer

LncRNAs and tumor microenvironment (TME) exert an important effect in antitumor immunity. Nonetheless, the role of m(6)A-related lncRNA clustering patterns in prognosis, TME and immunotherapy of cervical cancer (CC) remains unknown. Here, based on 7 m(6)A-related prognostic lncRNAs obtained from TCGA-CC dataset, two m(6)AlncRNA clustering patterns were determined. m(6)AlncRNA clusterA was characterized by immune cell infiltrates and immune activation. m(6)AlncRNA clusterB was characterized by enrichment of immune evasion and tumorigenic activation pathways as well as survival and clinical stage disadvantage. Then, principal component analysis algorithms were used to construct m(6)AlncRNAscore based on prognostic differentially expressed genes between two m(6)AlncRNA clusters to quantify m(6)AlncRNA clustering patterns. m(6)AlncRNAscore was an independent prognostic protective factor. Higher Th2 and Treg cells and enrichment of immunosuppressive pathways were observed in the low-m(6)AlncRNAscore group, with poorer survival. High-m(6)AlncRNAscore was characterized by increased infiltration of activated CD8 T cell, enrichment of immune activation pathways, lower IL-10 and TGF-beta1 levels, and higher immunophenscore values, indicating inflamed TME and better anti-tumor immunotherapy efficacy. Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction was used for detection of m(6)A-related prognostic lncRNAs. Collectively, we identified two m(6)AlncRNA clustering patterns which play a nonnegligible role in the prognosis, TME heterogeneity and immunotherapy of CC patients.