The Construction and Analysis of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells and ceRNA Networks in Bladder Cancer

Background: Bladder cancer (BLCA) is the 11th most common malignancy worldwide. Although significant improvements have been made in screening, diagnosis, and precise management in recent years, the prognosis of BLCA remains bleak.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and construct ceRNA networks in BLCA patients.

Methods: The expression data of BLCA patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed to identify the hub genes involved in the prognosis of BLCA. The CIBERSORT algorithm was utilized to investigate the infiltration levels of 22 subsets of immune cells. Ultimately, the nomogram was generated to visualize the survival probability of each patient, with the calibration curve being performed to assess its performance. Furthermore, the Pearson correlation test was used to explore the correlation between the identified hub genes in the ceRNA network and the prognostic-related immune cells.

Results: A total of eight elements in the ceRNA network were considered as key members and correlated with the prognosis of BLCA, including ELN, SREBF1, DSC2, TTLL7, DIP2C, SATB1, hsa-miR-20a-5p, and hsa-miR-29c-3p. T cells CD8, T cells follicular helper (Tfh), and neutrophils were identified as independent prognostic factors in BLCA. The co-expression analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between the identified hub genes and immune cells.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that the mechanism of hsa-miR-29c-3p regulates the expression of ELN and DSC2, and the infiltration of Tfh and neutrophils might play pivotal roles in the progression of BLCA.