ISSN: 1837-9664Journal of Cancer
Global reach, higher impact
J Cancer 2024; 15(2):444-455. doi:10.7150/jca.87622 This issue Cite
Research Paper
CNKSR2 expression is correlated with immune infiltrates in Cervical Cancer as a favorable prognostic factor
1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310020, China.
2. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Drum Tower Clinic Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
3. Key Laboratory of Reproductive Dysfunction Management of Zhejiang Province Assisted Reproduction Unit, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310020, China.
4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Huzhou Nanxun People's Hospital, Huzhou,313009, China.
† Guangxiao Li and Qiaoqiao Chen contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
Connector enhancer of kinase suppressor of Ras 2 (CNKSR2) is a scaffold protein that mediates mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. However, the molecular function of CNKSR2 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC) remains unknown. This study aimed to characterize the role of CNKSR2 in patients with CESC. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression of CNKSR2 in CESCs is relatively low compared with that in normal cells. We also explored the gene expression profile of high- and low-CNKSR2 expression in patients with cervical cancer. Furthermore, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the expression of CNKSR2 was upregulated in synapse assembly, which was coordinately regulated using the cAMP signaling pathway and calcium signaling pathway. The correlation between CNKSR2 and cancer immune cell infiltration was investigated via single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). High CNKSR2 expression was associated with better overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Interestingly, high CNKSR2 expression was a good predictor of the survival outcome in cervical cancer patients. Additionally, CNKSR2 expression was strongly correlated with diverse immune cells in CESCs, including NK cells and T cells. These findings suggest that CNKSR2 is correlated with prognosis and immune infiltration, laying the foundation for future studies on the functional role of CNKSR2 in CESC.
Keywords: CNKSR2, cervical squamous cell carcinoma, synapse assembly, immune cell infiltration, prognostic value
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