RGS4 inhibits glioma cells sensitivity to radiotherapy and temozolomide by regulating ferroptosis.

Background: Chemoradiotherapy is the major means in the treatment of gliomas followed surgery. Ferroptosis has been shown to play an important role in carcinogenesis by many studies. However, its underlying effect on chemoradiotherapy sensitivity in gliomas remains unclear.

Methods: The genetic and clinical information and ferroptosis-related genes were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) was used to perform hub gene expression and survival analysis. Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK-8), colony formation, 5-Ethynyl-2'-Deoxyuridine (EdU), Transwell and chemoradiotherapy sensitivity experiments were performed to confirm the biological function of RGS4 in glioma cells. The molecular mechanism of RGS4 on ferroptosis in gliomas was explored in vitro.

Results: 385 ferroptosis-related genes were identified via bioinformatics analysis. 16 differential expressed genes (DEGs) were identified as radiation-related genes. Among them, RGS4, HSPA5, and SLC40A1 had prognostic values in further analysis. The calculated risk score could significantly distinguish the high-risk population. Moreover, RGS4 expression was closely related with immune infiltration and regulators. RGS4 knockdown could inhibit the proliferation and migration of glioma cells. Down-regulation of RGS4 expression induced ferroptosis to promote cancer sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy.

Conclusions: A three-gene signature was developed in a risk-score model, which could be used to predict the prognosis of glioma patients. RGS4 is dysregulated in many types of cancers, and is a candidate prognostic biomarker for many types of cancers. Moreover, RGS4 may be a target for predicting and enhancing the chemoradiotherapy sensitivity of gliomas.