Integrative single-cell and multi-omics analyses reveal ferroptosis-associated gene expression and immune microenvironment heterogeneity in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC), a prevalent malignancy worldwide, encompasses a multitude of biological processes in its progression. Recently, ferroptosis, a novel mode of cell demise, has become a focal point in cancer research. The microenvironment of gastric cancer is composed of diverse cell populations, yet the specific gene expression profiles and their association with ferroptosis are not well understood. Our study employed single-cell RNA sequencing to thoroughly investigate the transcriptomic profiles and identify differential gene expression in gastric cancer, offering fresh insights into the cellular diversity and underlying molecular mechanisms of this disease. We discovered a set of significantly differentially expressed genes in GC, which may serve as valuable leads for future functional investigations. Subsequent analyses, including gene set intersection and functional enrichment, pinpointed genes implicated in ferroptosis and conducted comprehensive Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses to elucidate their biological roles. In the gene selection and model validation section, critical genes were identified using machine learning algorithms, constructing a model with high predictive accuracy. Besides, distorted immune landscapes were further identified in RBL using ssGSEA analysis such that the complex association of gene expression features and its interaction networks as well as infiltration by various types of immune cells can be more clearly understood. Correlation analysis with different immune cell subtypes showed CTSB as an important regulator in the distributions of cancer infiltrating cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis was utilized to map the cellular composition and gene expression profiles of cells in the gastric cancer microenvironment, which provide critical information for elucidating cellular heterogeneity as well as tumor microenvironment regulation in GC. Moreover, the distribution of FTH1, ZFP36 and CIRBP at different expression levels show new research prospects for functional information of these promoters in tumor microenvironment. In summary, the present study augments our knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying gastric tumorigenesisa and provide scientific basis for identifing new targets and biomarkers in therapeutic diagnosis.