A novel DNA damage repair gene-related prognostic model for evaluating the prognosis and tumor microenvironment infiltration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the potential prognostic value of DNA damage repair genes (DDRGs) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and their relationship with immune-related characteristics. METHODS: We analyzed DDRGs of the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE53625). Subsequently, the GSE53625 cohort was used to construct a prognostic model based on least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and Cox regression analysis was used to construct a nomogram. The immunological analysis algorithms explored the differences between the potential mechanism, tumor immune activity, and immunosuppressive genes in the high- and low-risk groups. Of the prognosis model-related DDRGs, we selected PPP2R2A for further investigation. Functional experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect on ESCC cells in vitro. RESULTS: A 5-DDRG (ERCC5, POLK, PPP2R2A, TNP1 and ZNF350) prediction signature was established for ESCC, stratifying patients into two risk groups. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the 5-DDRG signature was an independent predictor of overall survival. Immune cells such as CD4 T cells and monocytes displayed lower infiltration levels in the high-risk group. Additionally, the immune, ESTIMATE, and stromal scores in the high-risk group were all considerably higher than those in the low-risk group. Functionally, knockdown of PPP2R2A significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion in two ESCC cell lines (ECA109 and TE1). CONCLUSION: The clustered subtypes and prognostic model of DDRGs could effectively predict the prognosis and immune activity of ESCC patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12920-023-01459-1.