Identification of KIF21B as a Biomarker for Colorectal Cancer and Associated with Poor Prognosis

Shanshan Xu; Youran Li; Hua Huang; Xian Miao; Yunfei Gu

doi:10.1155/2022/7905787

Identification of KIF21B as a Biomarker for Colorectal Cancer and Associated with Poor Prognosis

J Oncol. 2022 Nov 21:2022:7905787. doi: 10.1155/2022/7905787. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shanshan Xu¹, Youran Li², Hua Huang³, Xian Miao⁴, Yunfei Gu²

Affiliations

¹ Major of Chinese Medicine Surgery, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210000, China.
² Department of Colorectal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210000, China.
³ Department of Anorectal, Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 215500, China.
⁴ Department of Oncology, Nantong Hospital of Traditional Chinese, Nantong, Jiangsu 226001, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study is aimed at exploring the function of KIF21B in colorectal cancer.

Methods: The expression of KIF21B was analyzed by the UALCAN database, GEPIA site, and TIMER site. The survival rate was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier curves, and the prognosis was analyzed by ROC. Relevant signaling pathways and biological processes were analyzed by GO-KEGG enrichment analysis. The correlation between KIF21B and cancer immune infiltrates was analyzed by TIMER. The functional state of KIF21B in various types of cancers was conducted by single-cell RNA-sequencing. Furthermore, the expression of KIF21B was verified by real-time qPCR and Western blotting. The cell proliferation was measured by CCK8 assay. The cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cell migration and invasion were determined by the transwell assay.

Results: Combination analysis of bioinformatics methods revealed that KIF21B is high expression in CRC, associated with poor survival. KIF21B and associated genes were significantly enriched in covalent chromatin modification. The expression of KIF21B was positively correlated with infiltrating levels of CD4+ T cells and neutrophils, cell apoptosis, and metastasis. KIF21B was upregulated expression in CRC cell lines. KIF21B deficiency reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.

Conclusions: Our study suggested that KIF21B may be a biomarker in CRC.