Increasing evidence suggests that ferroptosis is involved in the development of various tumors; therefore, targeting iron-related cell death has substantial potential for tumor therapy [19]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to apply a bioinformatics approach to explore the potential mechanisms underlying the association between iron metabolism and DLBCL, a highly aggressive and common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. First, we used the WGCNA algorithm, which is currently the most reliable algorithm for co-expression cluster analysis of iron metabolism and DLBCL (GSE83632) datasets. We then counted the intersections of genes in clinically relevant modules to calculate the shared genes. Simultaneously, we observed the biological processes and signaling pathways involved in these shared genes. Interestingly, the results of the enrichment analysis included multiple biological processes related to oxidative stress and apoptosis, which are closely related to DLBCL progression. These results suggest that the development of DLBCL may be related to transcriptional and apoptotic changes mediated by abnormal mitochondrial function. To verify the authenticity of our data, the new DLBCL dataset GSE32918 and peripheral blood samples from the normal control group were screened again for limma analysis to detect differential genes, as well as their interaction with previously screened shared genes, to finally identify three core genes, GATA1, KLF1, and ACSL6 [22, 23]. Considering the expression and prognosis of DLBCL, we identified GATA1 as a key gene involved in iron metabolism that affects DLBCL progression.
The GATA family consists of six transcription factors, GATA1–GATA6, known for their ability to bind to the DNA consensus sequence (A/T)GATA(A/G) through their characteristic zinc finger structure [24]. In our study, through the collation and analysis of DLBCL datasets from the TCGA and GTEx databases, we found that the group with high GATA1 expression had longer overall survival than the group with low GATA1 expression; high GATA1 expression also predicted a better prognosis. This finding was similar to that reported by Chen et al., who found that the expression level of GATA1 in acute promyelocytic leukemia was highest in the low-risk group and lowest in the high-risk group [25]. Interestingly, GATA1 promotes cell invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance [26–28]. Therefore, the mechanism of action of GATA1 in DLBCL requires further exploration, as does the consistency of GATA1 expression and its effect in peripheral blood and lymphoma tissues.
GATA1, the first transcription factor identified in the GATA family, plays a crucial role in regulating the maturation of erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages, expressed and acting on mast cells and eosinophils [29]. In this study, we analyzed the gene of GATA1 by immune infiltration and observed that GATA1 expression had a positive effect on CD4 + T cells, B cells, and monocytes, but a negative effect on NK cells and neutrophils. GSEA enrichment analysis revealed that GATA1 was associated with myeloid cell differentiation and granulocyte differentiation pathways. Thus, we hypothesize that the regulatory effects of GATA1 in various diseases could be mediated by regulating the activity of CD4 + T cells. Chimeric antigen receptor T cells are a recent hotspot in therapeutic research for DLBCL, and are particularly effective in treating refractory or recurrent DLBCL [30, 31]. However, limitations still exist, which may be addressed through further study of GATA1 modulation in T cells and DLBCL.
Currently, the treatment of choice for DLBCL is chemotherapy; although most patients are sensitive to first-line chemotherapy, 30–40% of patients with DLBCL still relapse after treatment [32]. Some of these patients who are not transplantable may be treated with small-molecule targeted agents. In our study, GATA1 was closely associated with sensitivity to small-molecule targeted drugs. In particular, the expression of GATA1 was positively correlated with imatinib, nilotinib, and crizotinib sensitivity, but negatively correlated with the PI3K inhibitor copanlisib [33], the Src-Abl inhibitor, and the CDK9 inhibitor. Thus, we speculate that GATA1 causes relapsed refractory DLBCL to become resistant to copanlisib by affecting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway; however, the exact mechanism requires further investigation.
Our study has some limitations. That is, the results are still at the level of data analysis, and insufficient experimental data exist to confirm our results. Therefore, a reasonable analysis must be performed to verify our conjectures in a stepwise manner.