The synergistic effects of anoikis-related genes and EMT-related genes in the prognostic prediction of Wilms tumor.

Abstract

Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common type of malignant abdominal tumor in children; it exhibits a high degree of malignancy, grow rapidly, and is prone to metastasis. This study aimed to construct a prognosis model based on anoikis-related genes (ARGs) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes (ERGs) for WT patients; we assessed the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment and treatment efficacy, as well as identifying potential therapeutic targets. To this end, we downloaded transcriptome sequencing data and clinical data for WT and normal renal cortices and used R to construct and validate the prognostic model based on ARGs and ERGs. Additionally, we performed clinical feature analysis, nomogram construction, mutation analysis, drug sensitivity analysis, Connectivity Map (cMAP) analysis, functional enrichment analysis, and immune infiltration analysis. Finally, we screened the hub gene using the STRING database and validated it via experiments. In this way, we constructed a model with good accuracy and robustness, which was composed of seven anoikis- and EMT-related genes. Paclitaxel and mesna were selected as potential chemotherapeutic drugs and adjuvant chemotherapeutic drugs for the WT high-risk group by using the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) and cMAP compound libraries, respectively. We proved the existence of a strong correlation between invasive immune cells and prognostic genes and risk scores. Next, we selected NTRK2 as the hub gene, and in vitro experiments confirmed that its inhibition can significantly inhibit the proliferation and migration of tumor cells and promote late apoptosis. In summary, we screened out the potential biomarkers and chemotherapeutic drugs that can improve the prognosis of patients with WT.