Exploration of the Molecular Mechanism of Intercellular Communication in Paediatric Neuroblastoma by Single-Cell Sequencing

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is an embryonic tumour originating from the sympathetic nervous system that most often occurs in infants and children under 2 years of age. Moreover, it is the most common extracranial solid tumour in children. Increasing research suggests that intercellular communication within the tumour microenvironment is closely related to tumour development. Methods This study aimed to construct a prognosis-related intercellular communication-associated genes (ICAGs) model by single-cell sequencing and transcriptome sequencing to predict the prognosis of patients with NB for precise management. Single-cell data from patients with NB were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database for comprehensive analysis. Moreover, prognosis-related genes were screened in the TARGET database based on epithelial cell marker genes through a combination of Cox regression and Lasso regression analyses, using GSE62564 and GSE85047 for external validation. Patients’ risk scores were calculated, followed by immune infiltration analysis, drug sensitivity analysis, and enrichment analysis of risk scores, which were conducted for the prognostic model. Results We used the feature selection algorithm with Lasso regression to screen for characteristic genes in NB and developed a 21-gene prognostic model. The risk scores were highly correlated with multiple immune cells and common anti-tumour drugs. In addition, the risk score was identified as an independent prognostic factor for NB. Conclusions In this study, we constructed and validated a prognostic signature based on epithelial marker genes, which may provide useful insights into the development and prognosis of NB.