Title: Comprehensive analysis of m6A regulators associated with immune infiltration in
Hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma
Version: 2 Date: 10 Apr 2023
Reviewer's report:
The study is very interesting and important to analyze the m6A regulators associated with
immune infiltration in Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma. The paper is
well written and well conducted. However, some deficiencies must be corrected or they cannot
be accepted for publication
1. The authors used bioinformatics methods to screen the differentially expressed m6A related
genes based on TCGA databases. However, more detail of method on data processing need to be
added, to make sure readers could repeat this work and result. The bioinformatics methods used
in this study is traditional. There should be further animal or clinical experiments to validate
the article conclusions.
2. A prognostic signature (m6A clusters) containing these m6A related genes was constructed
and significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). The reported results are interesting, but
it’s too preliminary for the mechanism in this study. It is very interesting to give more insight
into the target molecules of these m6A related genes and the mechanism by which these m6A
related genes can influence the development of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular
carcinoma.
3. The results are equivocal. In the results part, each subheading should be named with a specific
result. The correlation between the results of each part is poor.
4. The quality of the figure is poor. The gene name and GO and KEGG pathway information
in Figure 4 is not fully clear.
5. This paper attempts to establish a prognostic feature based on m6A clusters, which can be
used to predict the clinical prognosis of patients with HCC. But it was only attempted in one
compound, which could not account for the reliability of this method.
6. The authors found that the m6A related genes were significantly associated with clinical
prognosis and clinical pathological characteristics, tumor-related immune cell infiltration,
TIME, and immunotherapeutic response. It is better to further find the mechanisms by which
the m6A related genes to modulate the chemotaxis and function of immune cells in the tumor
microenvironment of HCC. There should be further animal or clinical experiments to validate
the article conclusions.
7. There are numerous spelling/grammar/formatting errors in the current version of the
manuscript. Please correct them carefully and seek help from qualified colleagues or
professional editing company if necessary.
8. If applicable, please provide full scans of the entire original gels displayed in your manuscript,
the original files for any microscopy images or flow cytometry data (.fcs) included in your
figures, and gating strategies for each flow experiment with clear labels to differentiate separate
experiments.
9. The author mentioned in the article that RT-qPCR validation has been completed. Please
provide the original RT-qPCR data and Figures. Figure 7?
10. Why should authors who did not contribute be included as co-authors?
Title: Comprehensive analysis of m6A regulators associated with immune infiltration in
Hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma
Version: 2 Date: 10 Apr 2023
Reviewer's report:
The study is very interesting and important to analyze the m6A regulators associated with
immune infiltration in Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma. The paper is
well written and well conducted. However, some deficiencies must be corrected or they cannot
be accepted for publication
1. The authors used bioinformatics methods to screen the differentially expressed m6A related
genes based on TCGA databases. However, more detail of method on data processing need to be
added, to make sure readers could repeat this work and result. The bioinformatics methods used
in this study is traditional. There should be further animal or clinical experiments to validate
the article conclusions.
2. A prognostic signature (m6A clusters) containing these m6A related genes was constructed
and significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). The reported results are interesting, but
it’s too preliminary for the mechanism in this study. It is very interesting to give more insight
into the target molecules of these m6A related genes and the mechanism by which these m6A
related genes can influence the development of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular
carcinoma.
3. The results are equivocal. In the results part, each subheading should be named with a specific
result. The correlation between the results of each part is poor.
4. The quality of the figure is poor. The gene name and GO and KEGG pathway information
in Figure 4 is not fully clear.
5. This paper attempts to establish a prognostic feature based on m6A clusters, which can be
used to predict the clinical prognosis of patients with HCC. But it was only attempted in one
compound, which could not account for the reliability of this method.
6. The authors found that the m6A related genes were significantly associated with clinical
prognosis and clinical pathological characteristics, tumor-related immune cell infiltration,
TIME, and immunotherapeutic response. It is better to further find the mechanisms by which
the m6A related genes to modulate the chemotaxis and function of immune cells in the tumor
microenvironment of HCC. There should be further animal or clinical experiments to validate
the article conclusions.
7. There are numerous spelling/grammar/formatting errors in the current version of the
manuscript. Please correct them carefully and seek help from qualified colleagues or
professional editing company if necessary.
8. If applicable, please provide full scans of the entire original gels displayed in your manuscript,
the original files for any microscopy images or flow cytometry data (.fcs) included in your
figures, and gating strategies for each flow experiment with clear labels to differentiate separate
experiments.
9. The author mentioned in the article that RT-qPCR validation has been completed. Please
provide the original RT-qPCR data and Figures. Figure 7?
10. Why should authors who did not contribute be included as co-authors?
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Comprehensive analysis of m6A regulators associated with immune infiltration in
Hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma
Version: 2 Date: 10 Apr 2023
Reviewer's report:
The study is very interesting and important to analyze the m6A regulators associated with
immune infiltration in Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma. The paper is
well written and well conducted. However, some deficiencies must be corrected or they cannot
be accepted for publication
1. The authors used bioinformatics methods to screen the differentially expressed m6A related
genes based on TCGA databases. However, more detail of method on data processing need to be
added, to make sure readers could repeat this work and result. The bioinformatics methods used
in this study is traditional. There should be further animal or clinical experiments to validate
the article conclusions.
2. A prognostic signature (m6A clusters) containing these m6A related genes was constructed
and significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). The reported results are interesting, but
it’s too preliminary for the mechanism in this study. It is very interesting to give more insight
into the target molecules of these m6A related genes and the mechanism by which these m6A
related genes can influence the development of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular
carcinoma.
3. The results are equivocal. In the results part, each subheading should be named with a specific
result. The correlation between the results of each part is poor.
4. The quality of the figure is poor. The gene name and GO and KEGG pathway information
in Figure 4 is not fully clear.
5. This paper attempts to establish a prognostic feature based on m6A clusters, which can be
used to predict the clinical prognosis of patients with HCC. But it was only attempted in one
compound, which could not account for the reliability of this method.
6. The authors found that the m6A related genes were significantly associated with clinical
prognosis and clinical pathological characteristics, tumor-related immune cell infiltration,
TIME, and immunotherapeutic response. It is better to further find the mechanisms by which
the m6A related genes to modulate the chemotaxis and function of immune cells in the tumor
microenvironment of HCC. There should be further animal or clinical experiments to validate
the article conclusions.
7. There are numerous spelling/grammar/formatting errors in the current version of the
manuscript. Please correct them carefully and seek help from qualified colleagues or
professional editing company if necessary.
8. If applicable, please provide full scans of the entire original gels displayed in your manuscript,
the original files for any microscopy images or flow cytometry data (.fcs) included in your
figures, and gating strategies for each flow experiment with clear labels to differentiate separate
experiments.
9. The author mentioned in the article that RT-qPCR validation has been completed. Please
provide the original RT-qPCR data and Figures. Figure 7?
10. Why should authors who did not contribute be included as co-authors?
assistant