SLC43A3 Promotes Oncogenesis and Predicts Poor Prognosis in Glioma

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Solute Carrier Family 43 Member 3 (SLC43A3) contributes to nucleobase transport in many metabolic diseases and is present as a fusion oncogene in some tumors. However, the potential clinical significance of SLC43A3 in the prognosis and progression of gliomas remains incompletely understood. The present study investigated the prognostic significance of SLC43A3 in glioma and the potential functional roles of SLC43A3 in this context. Methods A comprehensive analysis of two patient cohorts allowed us to establish a glioma prognosis model based on SLC43A3 expression. The biological processes related to SLC43A3 in glioma were investigated using functional enrichment analysis. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to evaluate the correlation between SLC43A3 and immune cell infiltration. Furthermore, SLC43A3 expression was detected in glioma patient samples, and functional analyses using siRNA knockdown were performed in U87-MG and U251 cell lines. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured using a cell counting kit-8 assay and flow cytometry. A transwell assay was used to assess cell migration. Results In glioma patients, high SLC43A3 expression negatively correlated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), suggesting that the SLC43A3 expression level was an independent prognostic indicator that contributed to the pathogenesis of glioma, including tumor cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. Conclusion SLC43A3, an independent prognostic indicator, may be involved in the proliferation and migration of glioma cells and reduce the cell apoptosis to participate the carcinogenic pathway of glioma.