Upregulation of C1QTNF6 mediated by ncRNAs correlates with poor prognosis and immune cells infiltration of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract Background C1q/tumor necrosis factor (C1QTNF) superfamily plays an important role in carcinogenesis of various human cancer types. However, its potential molecular mechanisms for genesis and development of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remind unclear. Methods In our research, pan-cancer analysis for C1QTNF6’s expression and prognosis in patients with ccRCC were conducted by using TCGA data and GTEx data. Target gene prediction tools and StarBase were applied to predict the regulatory pathway of C1QTNF6 in ccRCC. Using TIMER website, we analyzed the the relationships between C1QTNF6 expression level and tumor microenvironment in ccRCC. Results Our study revealed that C1QTNF6 might be a carcinogenic gene in ccRCC. Moreover, through correlation analysis, expression analysis and survival analysis, the most potential upstream regulatory pathway of C1QTNF6 in ccRCC, named LINC01694/hsa-miR-10a-5p/C1QTNF6 axis, was established. In addition, our results suggested that the relationships between C1QTNF6 expression level and tumor immune cells infiltration, biomarkers of immune cells and immune checkpoints expression of CTLA-4 and PD1 were significantly positive in ccRCC. Conclusions High expression of C1QTNF6 mediated by ncRNAs is related to poor prognosis in patients with ccRCC and might fulfill its partial oncogenic function by increasing tumor immune cells infiltration and immune checkpoints expression.