The Construction and Analysis of ceRNA Network and Immune Infiltration in Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma

Abstract Background Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) has the highest invasion, mortality and metastasis of the renal cell carcinomas and seriously affects patients’ quality of life. However, the composition of the immune microenvironment and regulatory mechanisms at transcriptomic level such as ceRNA of KIRC are still unclear. Methods We constructed a ceRNA network associated with KIRC by analyzing the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), miRNA and mRNA expression data of 506 tumor tissue samples and 71 normal adjacent tissue samples downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. In addition, we estimated the proportion of 22 immune cell types in these samples through “The Cell Type Identification by Estimating Relative Subsets of RNA Transcripts”. Based on the ceRNA network and immune cells screened by univariate Cox analysis and Lasso regression, two nomograms were constructed to predict the prognosis of patients with KIRC. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and calibration curves were employed to assess the discrimination and accuracy of the nomograms. Consequently, co-expression analysis was carried out to explore the relationship between each prognostic gene in a Cox proportional hazards regression model of ceRNA and each survival-related immune cell in a Cox proportional hazards regression model of immune cell types to reveal the potential regulatory mechanism. Results We established a ceRNA network consisting of 12 lncRNAs, 25 miRNAs and 136 mRNAs. Two nomograms containing seven prognostic genes and two immune cells, respectively, were successfully constructed. Both ROC [Area Under Curves (AUCs) of 1, 3 and 5-year survival in the nomogram based on ceRNA network: 0.779, 0.747 and 0.772; AUCs of 1, 3 and 5-year survivals in nomogram based on immune cells: 0.603, 0.642 and 0.607] and calibration curves indicated good accuracy and clinical application value of both models. Through co-correlation analysis between ceRNA and immune cells, we found both LINC00894 and KIAA1324 were positively correlated with follicular helper T (Tfh) cells and negatively correlated with resting mast cells. Conclusions Based on the ceRNA network and tumor-infiltrating immune cells, we constructed two nomograms to predict the survival of KIRC patients and demonstrated their value in improving the personalized management of KIRC.