GNPNAT1 acts as a prognostic biomarker associated with immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma and promotes the proliferation and invasion of cancer cells

作者：Qingfeng Li, Qing Lan, Hongmiao Wang, Jingyi Li, Yijia Tang, Y. Tang, Xue Yi, Meigui You, Yujuan Tang, Yujuan Tang, Yaping Xu · 发表于：Discover Oncology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1007/s12672-025-03818-z · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis、Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations、Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer persists as the foremost cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) representing the predominant histological subtype. Although GNPNAT1 has been implicated as a prognostic indicator in breast and prostate malignancies, its functional significance and mechanistic role in LUAD remain to be elucidated. METHODS: We performed comprehensive bioinformatic analyses to compare GNPNAT1 expression levels and prognostic impact in LUAD versus normal pulmonary tissues. Functional enrichment and single-cell transcriptomic analyses were employed to infer GNPNAT1-associated biological pathways. Immune cell infiltration was quantified using established deconvolution algorithms to assess correlations with GNPNAT1 expression. In vitro assays-including Transwell migration/invasion, colony formation, and flow cytometric evaluation of apoptosis and cell-cycle distribution-were conducted following GNPNAT1 knockdown. Western blotting was utilized to measure alterations in cyclins, CDKs, and MAPK/ERK pathway proteins. RESULTS: GNPNAT1 was significantly upregulated in LUAD specimens compared with non-neoplastic lung tissue (P < 0.001), and elevated expression portended reduced overall survival. Enrichment analyses highlighted GNPNAT1's involvement in cell proliferation and cell-cycle regulation. Correlation studies revealed that GNPNAT1 expression positively associated with Th2 cells, total T helper cells, and γδ T cells, while inversely correla...