Comprehensive characterization of the alternative splicing landscape in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma reveals novel events associated with tumorigenesis and the immune microenvironment

Abstract

Alternative splicing (AS) has emerged as a key event in tumor development and microenvironment formation. However, comprehensive analysis of AS and its clinical significance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) is urgently required. Methods: Genome-wide profiling of AS events using RNA-Seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program was performed in a cohort of 464 patients with HNSC. Cancer-associated AS events (CASEs) were identified between paired HNSC and adjacent normal tissues and evaluated in functional enrichment analysis. Splicing networks and prognostic models were constructed using bioinformatics tools. Unsupervised clustering of the CASEs identified was conducted and associations with clinical, molecular and immune features were analyzed. Results: We detected a total of 32,309 AS events and identified 473 CASEs in HNSC; among these, 91 were validated in an independent cohort (n = 15). Functional protein domains were frequently altered, especially by CASEs affecting cancer drivers, such as PCSK5. CASE parent genes were significantly enriched in pathways related to HNSC and the tumor immune microenvironment, such as the viral carcinogenesis (FDR < 0.001), Human Papillomavirus infection (FDR < 0.001), chemokine (FDR < 0.001) and T cell receptor (FDR < 0.001) signaling pathways. CASEs enriched in immune-related pathways were closely associated with immune cell infiltration and cytolytic activity. AS regulatory networks suggested a significant association between splicing factor (SF) expression and CASEs and might be regulated by SF methylation. Eighteen CASEs were identified as independent prognostic factors for overall and disease-free survival. Unsupervised clustering analysis revealed distinct correlations between AS-based clusters and prognosis, molecular characteristics and immune features. Immunogenic features and immune subgroups cooperatively depict the immune features of AS-based clusters. Conclusion: This comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the AS landscape in HNSC revealed novel AS events related to carcinogenesis and immune microenvironment, with implications for prognosis and therapeutic responses.