AUTHOR=Jiang Feng , Huang Xiaolu , Yang Xiang , Zhou Huixin , Wang Yumin 

TITLE=NUF2 Expression Promotes Lung Adenocarcinoma Progression and Is Associated With Poor Prognosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.795971

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.795971

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Aberrant expression of the gene encoding the Ndc80 kinetochore complex component (<italic>NUF2</italic>) reportedly contributes to the progression of several human cancers. However, the functional roles of <italic>NUF2</italic> and their underlying mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are largely unknown. The current study aimed to investigate the role of <italic>NUF2</italic> in LUAD tumorigenesis. Here, TCGA, ONCOMINE, the Human Protein Atlas, UALCAN, and the results of our cohort were used to analyze the expression of <italic>NUF2</italic> in LUAD. A Kaplan–Meier analysis and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate the prognostic values of <italic>NUF2</italic> expression in the Cancer Genome Atlas cohort. We studied the effects of <italic>NUF2</italic> expression on proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth using LUAD cell lines. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to analyze the pathways and biological function enrichment of <italic>NUF2</italic> in LUAD. The ssGSEA database was used to analyze the relationship between <italic>NUF2</italic> expression and immune cell infiltration in LUAD. Results revealed elevated expression of <italic>NUF2</italic> in LUAD specimens. Patients overexpressing <italic>NUF2</italic> had poor prognoses relative to those with low <italic>NUF2</italic> expression. Knockdown of <italic>NUF2</italic> suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and colony formation of LUAD cells. Moreover, <italic>NUF2</italic> knockdown induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Gene Ontology and GSEA analyses suggested that <italic>NUF2</italic> may be involved in immunity, proliferation, and apoptosis-related pathways. <italic>NUF2</italic> overexpression was positively correlated with differential immune cell infiltration. In conclusion, <italic>NUF2</italic> expression was associated with the clinical phenotype of LUAD and hence has potential implications in LUAD treatment.</p>