The results showed that the immune hub genes were significantly enriched in 52 pathways and complexes (p < 0.05) (Fig. 4e; Table S8), such as the TNF signalling pathway, tyrosine metabolism, IGF2R − PLAUR − PLAU complex, etc. These findings suggest that these hub genes not only affect the metabolism, apoptosis, cell survival, inflammation and immunity of HCC but also play a pivotal role in regulating the protein complexes of immune cells. Here, PLAU is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.