Chaperonin containing TCP-1 subunit genes are potential prognostic biomarkers and correlate with Th2 cell infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma

Background: Chaperonin containing TCP-1 (T-complex protein 1) subunit genes (CCTs) is a family of molecular chaperone complex that assists the folding of multiple proteins. However, there is no comprehensive analysis of CCTs in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods UALCAN, The Human Protein Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used to evaluate CCTs mRNA expression. Immunohistochemistry was performed to measure CCTs protein expression. CCTs mutation was detected through cBioPortal and promoter methylation was measured by UALCAN database. Prognostic value of CCTs was evaluated using PrognoScan analysis. GEPIA2.0 was to measure the prognostic value of CCTs and CCTs related Hub genes. Correlation analysis between the expression of CCTs was based on GEPIA2.0. The ROC curves, clinical correlation analysis, Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analysis and immune cells infiltration analysis were from TCGA and then analyzed and visualized using R language. The STRING was used for protein-protein interaction analysis. Results CCTs expression increased in LUAD and upregulated CCTs levels predicted advanced diseases and poor prognosis in LUAD patients. ROC curves analysis indicated the possibility of CCTs serving as diagnostic indicators. Functional enrichment analysis showed that CCTs were involved in mitosis mediated cell cycle process. We also identified ten hub genes correlated with CCTs which were related with LUAD prognosis and tumor progression. Immune cell infiltration analysis showed CCTs expression in tumor tissues tend to be related with Th2 cell infiltration. Conclusions Our findings revealed that CCTs may serve as valuable biomarkers for LUAD diagnosis and targeted therapy.