Prognostic significance and molecular mechanisms of LPCAT1 in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

LPCAT1 acts as an oncogene in a variety of cancers, but its effect on lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) has not been reported. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of LPCAT1 by bioinformatics analyses and to confirm its effect on LUSC cell functions by in vitroexperiments. The expression data and clinical information were obtained from the public database. The prognostic value of LPCAT1 was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curves, nomogram analysis, and Cox regression analyses. The relationships of LPCAT1 and immune features were also estimated. Then, expressions of LPCAT1 and PTEN/Akt pathway in LUSC cell lines (NCI-H226 and NCI-H520) were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Cell viability, invasion, and apoptosis were evaluated by CCK-8 assay, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. The bioinformatics analyses suggested that LPCAT1 is an independent prognostic risk factor of LUSC and has predictive potential. Meanwhile, LPCAT1 was significantly associated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint gene expressions. Experiment data suggested that LPCAT1 can promote proliferation and invasion but inhibit apoptosis in LUSC cell lines. LPCAT1 can also significantly decrease the PTEN expression but increase the p-Akt expression in vitro. LPCAT1 indicates prognosis and correlates with immune features in LUSC. Experiment data indicated that LPCAT1 may promote proliferation and invasion but inhibit apoptosis of LUSC cell lines via the PTEN/Akt pathway.