Overexpression of the ferroptosis-related gene, NFS1, corresponds to gastric cancer growth and tumor immune infiltration

The current work has further elucidated the expression and functional implication of cysteine desulfurase (NFS1) in gastric cancer (GC), the prognostic value, and therapeutic target because of the interaction with tumor immune infiltration and ferroptosis. Transcriptomic data from TCGA and GTEX were analyzed to assess mRNA expression and survival correlation with NFS1 among GC patients. A total of 152 GC cases were retrospectively analyzed. The level of NFS1 expression was upregulated in GC tissues compared to non-tumor gastric tissues, which was related to clinical characteristics and poor prognosis. Downregulation of the NFS1 protein in the GC cell line had an adverse effect on the migration, invasion, and proliferation of cells. In addition, NFS1 and immune correlation analysis showed that the level of NFS1 expression was related to a variety of immune cells and characteristics of the immune microenvironment. Based on functional enrichment analysis, NFS1 may have a role in ferroptosis and the tumor microenvironment (TME), such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition control, and the stromal and immunologic responses. NFS1 is a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker linked to ferroptosis and the TME, and provides a novel target for cancer treatment and immunotherapy.