Fig 2: Serum and tissues copper concentrations, redox balance and MG-H1 levels in ND or HFD mice. a Representative photomicrographs of Hematoxylin and Eosin staining in liver sections from representative liver tissues of male mice fed with ND or HFD. Original magnification ×10. b Copper concentration in serum and liver samples of ND and HFD mice. c Transcriptional levels of CTR1, CTR2, ATP7B, COX17, CCS and ATOX1 genes. d Levels of reduced GSH expressed by tGSH/GSSG ratio and d MG-H1 (methyl-glyoxal-hydro-imidazolone) protein adducts. Values are expressed as means ± SD and data were analyzed by a t-Test analysis (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001)

Fig 3: Co-expression analysis of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) and immune checkpoint genes (ICGs). (A) Expression levels of ICGs between normal liver tissue and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). (B) Differences in the expression of ICGs between low-risk and high-risk groups. (C) Co-expression analysis of CRGs and ICGs. ATP7A, ATP13A2, and SNCA were significantly positively correlated with the expression of ICGs, and a negative correlation between ICGs and COX17 or F5 was observed. ns, no significance.

Fig 4: Correlations between critical cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) and tumor immune cell infiltration. ATP7A, ATP13A2, and SNCA were positively correlated with multiple types of immune cell infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while COX17, F5, and ALB were negatively correlated with immune cell infiltration in HCC.