Fig. 1

USP5 is significantly associated with cancer stemness and prognosis in lung cancer. A Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) enrichment plots of the gene sets from EACTOME_UB_SPECIFIC_PROCESSING_PROTEASES in the TCGA-LUAD dataset (n = 509) ranked by Pearson correlation results (Pearson r) for the stemness index (mRNAsi). B Kaplan-Meier analysis of TCGA lung cancer patients (n = 500) stratified by the scores for ssGSEA of deubiquitinases. C Univariate Cox regression analysis of 7 DUBs in the ‘leading edge’ genes (related to A) for overall survival in TCGA-LUAD dataset. HR, hazard ratios; CI, confidence intervals. D Positive correlation between USP5 expression and the mRNAsi in the TCGA-LUAD dataset. r, Pearson correlation coefficient. E Heatmap showing positive correlation between USP5 expression and ssGSEA scores for stemness-related gene signatures from the TCGA-LUAD dataset. F The expression levels of USP5 in lung tumor samples (n = 509) were significantly higher than those in normal lung tissue samples (n = 59). G The expression levels of USP5 were significantly higher in late-stage tumors (stage III or IV; n = 110) than in early-stage tumors (stage I or II; n = 393) in the TCGA-LUAD dataset. H USP5 expression in lung cancer patients with lymph node metastasis (N1-N3; n = 171) was significantly higher than that in those without metastasis (N0; n = 327) in the TCGA-LUAD dataset. I–N Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly poorer overall survival in the high USP5 expression subgroup than in the low USP5 expression subgroup in the TCGA-LUAD (I), Okayama (J), Wilkerson (K), Schabath (L), Rousseaux (M) and Raponi (N) cohorts. P-values were based on log-rank tests