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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

The m7G Modification Level and Immune Infiltration Characteristics in Patients with COVID-19

, , , , , & show all
Pages 2461-2472 | Received 04 Aug 2022, Accepted 14 Oct 2022, Published online: 26 Oct 2022
 

Abstract

Purpose

The 7-methylguanosine (m7G)-related genes were used to identify the clinical severity and prognosis of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to identify possible therapeutic targets.

Patients and Methods

The GSE157103 dataset provides the transcriptional spectrum and clinical information required to analyze the expression of m7G-related genes and the disease subtypes. R language was applied for immune infiltration analysis, functional enrichment analysis, and nomogram model construction.

Results

Most m7G-related genes were up-regulated in COVID-19 and were closely related to immune cell infiltration. Disease subtypes were grouped using a clustering algorithm. It was found that the m7G-cluster B was associated with higher immune infiltration, lower mechanical ventilation, lower intensive care unit (ICU) status, higher ventilator-free days, and lower m7G scores. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between m7G-cluster A and B were enriched in viral infection and immune-related aspects, including COVID-19 infection; Th17, Th1, and Th2 cell differentiation, and human T-cell leukemia virus 1 infection. Finally, through machine learning, six disease characteristic genes, NUDT4B, IFIT5, LARP1, EIF4E, LSM1, and NUDT4, were screened and used to develop a nomogram model to estimate disease risk.

Conclusion

The expression of most m7G genes was higher in COVID-19 patients compared with that in non-COVID-19 patients. The m7G-cluster B showed higher immune infiltration and milder symptoms. The predictive nomogram based on the six m7G genes can be used to accurately assess risk.

Data Sharing Statement

All data in this study were obtained from the GSE157103 dataset at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE157103.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the 900th Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army Joint Logistics Support Force and was carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. All data were obtained from GEO databases, so that informed consent can be guaranteed.

Author Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the 900th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force Fund (Grant Number: 2020Z12), the 900th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force Fund (Grant Number: 2020Q02), and the Guiding Project of Social Development of Fujian Province (Grant Number: 2021Y0062), Startup Fund for scientific research, Fujian Medical University (Grant number: 2019QH1285).