POC1A promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression through the PI3K/AKT pathway and is a potential prognostic marker

Abstract

Abstract Background POC1A, also known as WDR51A (POC1 Centriolar Protein Homolog A), has been implicated in a number of malignancies. However, its biological role in Lung Adenocarcinoma is still largely unknown. This study was performed to investigate the biological role and potential mechanism of POC1A in adenocarcinoma of lung. Methods POC1A expression in LUAD was analyzed for combining datasets by the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Diagnosis and prognostic relevance of POC1A were evaluated through differential expression analysis, Kaplan-Meier curves, cox regression, construction of the nomogram, Gene-set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Based on a series of in vitro experiments, such as Western blot analysis, CCK 8 determination, and transwell determination, etc. The biological behavior and role of POC1A in lung cancer cells was estimated. Results POC1A expression was upregulated in most cancers and predicted poor prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma in TCGA. The results showed that POC1A expression was significantly associated with Th2 cells, mast cells, eosinophils cells, and Tcm cells. The in vitro results showed that POC1A knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of LUAD cells and promoted the apoptosis of LUAD cells. Conclusion Our bioinformatics and in vitro experiments confirm that POC1A is substantially expressed in LUAD and is connected to a negative prognosis. In vitro experiments showed that POC1A promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of LUAD tumor cells. These findings suggest that POC1A may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for LUAD.