ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Mitophagy-related gene TRIP13 predicts prognosis and immune response and promotes proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo of clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hunan Cancer Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China
- 2Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
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Background: The incidence of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is increasing every year. Mitophagy is a unique form of autophagy that plays a crucial role in cancer development and invasion. However, its role in ccRCC remains to be fully elucidated. Methods: After extracting mitophagy-related genes (MRGs), differential expression analysis was performed to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Univariate Cox regression analysis was used to screen prognostic-related DEGs, CNV mutation frequencies were compared, and consensus cluster analysis was constructed to evaluate the survival and functional enrichment status among different subtypes. LASSO Cox regression analysis was used to identify key prognostic genes and construct risk models to evaluate the prognostic value and immune contribution. The protein and mRNA expression levels of independent prognostic genes and their effects on ccRCC function were verified by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results: The study found 174 DEGs, including 9 prognosis-related DEGs. These 9 DEGs were used to cluster ccRCC patients into two subtypes. Significant differences existed between the two subtypes in the survival status and KEGG functions. Finally, three core genes (JUP, TRIP13, and ACAD11) were identified for constructing a risk model, which can accurately predict the prognosis of ccRCC patients and evaluate the immune status. TRIP13 was identified as a key independent prognostic gene for ccRCC, and its protein and mRNA expression levels were highly expressed in ccRCC. ccRCC growth and motility can be markedly inhibited by TRIP13 knockdown, which also increases their susceptibility to destruction by CD8+ T cells. Conclusions: The prognosis and immune response of patients with ccRCC could be reliably estimated by the model in our cohorts created using MRGs in this research. The development of ccRCC is significantly influenced by MRGs, particularly TRIP13. This study can assist in offering ccRCC patients individualized treatment options.
Keywords: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma, immune response, mitophagy, prognosis, TRIP13
Received: 30 Oct 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jiang, Wang, He, Guo, Luo, Fu, Xiao, Chen and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yinzi Liu
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