CANT1 serves as a potential prognostic factor for lung adenocarcinoma and promotes cell proliferation and invasion in vitro

Abstract

Abstract Background Calcium-activated nucleotidase 1 (CANT1), functions as a calcium-dependent nucleotidase with a preference for UDP. However, the potential clinical value of CANT1 in lung adenocarcinoma (LA) has not been fully clarified. Thus, we sought to identify its potential biological function and mechanism through bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experiments in LA. Methods In the present study, we comprehensively investigated the prognostic role of CANT1 in LA patients through bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experiments. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were utilized to analyze the expression of CANT1 in LA patients and their clinical-prognostic value. The immunohistochemistry staining was obtained from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA). A Cox regression model was used to evaluate prognostic factors. Gene ontology (GO) and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to explore the potential regulatory mechanism of CANT1 in the development of LA. Moreover, we also examined the relationship between CANT1 expression and DNA methylation. Finally, we did in vitro experiments to evaluate the biological behavior and role of CANT1 in LA cells (LACs). Results Our study showed that the CANT1 expression was significantly elevated in the LA tissues compared with the normal lung tissues. Increased CANT1 expression was significantly associated with the TN stage. A univariate Cox analysis indicated that high CANT1 expression levels were correlated with poor overall survival (OS) in LA. Besides, CANT1 expression was independently associated with OS in multivariate analysis. GO and GSEA analysis showed the enrichment of mitotic nuclear division, DNA methylation, and DNA damage. Then we found that the high expression of CANT1 is positively correlated with hypomethylation. The methylation level was associated with prognosis in LA patients. Finally, in vitro experiments indicated that knockdown of CANT1 resulted in decreased cell proliferation, invasion, and G1 phase cell-cycle arrest in LACs. Conclusion The present study suggested that CANT1 may serve as a potential prognosis biomarker in patients with LA. High CANT1 expression and promoter demethylation was associated with worse outcome. Finally, in vitro experiments verified the biological functions and behaviors of CANT1 in LA.