Identification and validation of a novel glycolysis-related gene signature for predicting the prognosis in ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynaecological tumor. Changes in glycolysis have been proven to play an important role in OC progression. We aimed to identify a novel glycolysis-related gene signature to better predict the prognosis of patients with OC. METHODS: mRNA and clinical data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. The “limma” R package was used to identify glycolysis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Then, a multivariate Cox proportional regression model and survival analysis were used to develop a glycolysis-related gene signature. Furthermore, the TCGA training set was divided into two internal test sets for validation, while the ICGC dataset was used as an external test set. A nomogram was constructed in the training set, and the relative proportions of 22 types of tumor-infiltrating immune cells were evaluated using the “CIBERSORT” R package. The enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were determined by single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) with the “GSVA” R package. Finally, the expression and function of the unreported signature genes ISG20 and SEH1L were explored using immunohistochemistry, western blotting, qRT-PCR, proliferation, migration, invasion and xenograft tumor assays. RESULTS: A five-gene signature comprising ANGPTL4, PYGB, ISG20, SEH1L and IRS2 was constructed. This signature could predict prognosis independent of clinical factors. A nomogram incorporating the signature and three clinical features was constructed, and the calibration plot suggested that the nomogram could accurately predict the survival rate. According to ssGSEA, the signature was associated with KEGG pathways related to axon guidance, mTOR signalling, tight junctions, etc. The proportions of tumor-infiltrating immune cells differed significantly between the high-risk group and the low-risk group. The expression levels of ISG20 and SEH1L were lower in tumor tissues than in normal tissues. Overexpression of ISG20 or SEH1L suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of Caov3 cells in vitro and the growth of xenograft tumors in vivo. CONCLUSION: Five glycolysis-related genes were identified and incorporated into a novel risk signature that can effectively assess the prognosis and guide the treatment of OC patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02045-0.