LI RUIFANG, NAN XINRONG, LI MING, RAHHAL OMAR. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) as a prognostic biomarker in multiple tumors and its therapeutic potential in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Oncol Res 2024;
32:1323-1334. [PMID:
39055892 PMCID:
PMC11267059 DOI:
10.32604/or.2024.046965]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Background
Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a cell surface serine protease, plays roles in tumor invasion and immune regulation. However, there is currently no pan-cancer analysis of FAP. Objective: We aimed to assess the pan-cancer expression profile of FAP, its molecular function, and its potential role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC).
Methods
We analyzed gene expression, survival status, immune infiltration, and molecular functional pathways of FAP in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) tumors. Furthermore, to elucidate the role of FAP in HNSC, we performed proliferation, migration, and invasion assays post-FAP overexpression or knock-down.
Results
FAP expression was elevated in nine tumor types and was associated with poor survival in eight of them. In the context of immune infiltration, FAP expression negatively correlated with CD8+ T-cell infiltration in five tumor types and positively with regulatory T-cell infiltration in four tumor types. Our enrichment analysis highlighted FAP's involvement in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In HNSC cells, FAP overexpression activated the PI3K-Akt pathway, promoting tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion. Conversely, FAP knockdown showed inhibitory effects.
Conclusion
Our study unveils the association of FAP with poor tumor prognosis across multiple cancers and highlights its potential as a therapeutic target in HNSC.
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