OncoTargets and Therapy (Aug 2020)
GCNT4 is Associated with Prognosis and Suppress Cell Proliferation in Gastric Cancer
Abstract
Hui Sun,1,2,* Jinjia Chang,3,4,* Min Ye,1,3,5,* Weiwei Weng,1,3,5 Meng Zhang,1,3,5 Shujuan Ni,1,3,5 Cong Tan,1,3,5 Dan Huang,1,3,5 Lei Wang,1,3,5 Xiang Du,1,3,5 Mi-die Xu,1,3,5 Weiqi Sheng1,3,5 1Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China; 5Institute of Pathology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Mi-die Xu; Weiqi ShengDepartment of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 270 Dong’an Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-21-64175590Fax +86-21-64174774Email [email protected]; [email protected]: GCNT4 is a member of the glucosaminyl (N-acetyl) transferases family that has been implicated in multiple human malignancies. However, the role of GCNT4 in gastric cancer (GC) is unknown. In this present study, we aimed to explore the role and clinicopathological correlation of GCNT4 in GC.Materials and Methods: We first evaluated the dysregulation of GCNT4 in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and then we performed RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry to validate the results in a cohort of in-house patients. The clinicopathological correlation and function of GCNT4 in GC were also analysed.Results: GCNT4 was found to be significantly downregulated in GC. In addition, GCNT4 expression correlated with tumour depth, nervous invasion and pathological tumor-node-metastasis (pTNM) stage. Moreover, lower GCNT4 levels conferred poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) to GC patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that GCNT4 protein expression is an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with GC. Further functional experimental results revealed that overexpression of GCNT4 appears to halt GC cell proliferation and the cell cycle.Conclusion: Altogether, these findings indicated that GCNT4 regulates the GC cell cycle and have important implications for the selection of therapeutic targets to prevent tumour proliferation.Keywords: GCNT4, gastric cancer, dysregulation, cell cycle, prognosis
