Validation the role of desmocollin-2 in osteosarcoma based on single cell and bulk RNA seq and experimental analyses

J Cancer. 2023 Aug 21;14(14):2619-2632. doi: 10.7150/jca.87411. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: The aetiology of osteosarcoma (OS) remains unclear. Desmocollin-2 (DSC2) mediates intercellular adhesion and is involved in tumour progression. Therefore, we aim to investigate the potential role of DSC2 in OS. Methods: We analyzed the expression, prognostic value and immune infiltration of DSC2 in OS via single cell and bulk RNA seq data. Besides, the expression and function of DSC2 in OS were further verified by in vitro experiment. Results: We preliminarily determined that DSC2 was high expressed in OS, which was a risk factor for survival and had a strong relationship with immune cell infiltration. What's more, in vitro experiments also demonstrated that DSC2 was high expressed in OS cells, and silencing DSC2 would suppress proliferation, migration and invasion of OS cells. Conclusions: DSC2 may serve as an oncogene, which exerts a crucial role in tumor progression, predicting prognosis and immune cell infiltration in OS.

Keywords: DSC2; biological function; intercellular adhesion; molecular mechanism; osteosarcoma.