High expression of centromere protein N as novel biomarkers for gastric
adenocarcinoma
Abstract
Background: The role and mechanism of centromeric protein N (CENPN),
which has been associated with the development of various cancer types,
are yet unclear in Gastric adenocarcinoma (STAD). Methods: Data from The
Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype Tissue Expression were used to examine
the expression of CENPN in STAD and neighboring tissues. Xiantao
Academic was used to perform Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of
Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analysis on CENPN. By reviewing TCGA
database, the relationship between CENPN expression and immune cell
infiltration was assessed. The expression of CENPN in STAD and
surrounding tissues was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining, and
the correlation between CENPN expression and clinicopathological
characteristics was examined. CENPN was depleted in AGS cells with
siRNAs, and its impact on proliferation was measured by CCK-8 and EdU
assays. Following siRNA transfection, flow cytometry was performed to
identify cell cycle and apoptotic alterations in AGS cells. Results:
CENPN was highly expressed in STAD tissues. The degree of invasion, TNM
stage, and lymph node metastases were all substantially linked with
CENPN expression. GO|KEGG Enrichment analysis revealed that
CENPN was essential for the cell cycle, DNA replication, chromosomal
segregation, and nuclear division, among other important signaling
pathways. Further investigation revealed a positive correlation between
CENPN expression and Th2 cells and NK CD56dim cells and a negative
correlation between CENPN expression and mast cells , pDC cells,NK cells
and B cells. When CENPN expression in AGS cells was knocked down, cell
proliferation dramatically reduced, and the percentage of cells in the S
and G2-M phases decreased significantly. In addition, compared to the
control group, the proportion of apoptotic AGS cells significantly
increased after downregulating the expression level of CENPN.
Conclusion: According to our data, CENPN acts as an oncogene in STAD and
may be a viable therapeutic target.