RBM8A promotes growth and invasion through the Notch/STAT3 pathway in glioblastoma.

Abstract

e14038 Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a prevalent brain malignance with an extremely poor prognosis, which is attributable to its invasive biological behaviors. The RNA-binding motif protein 8A (RBM8A) has different effects on various human cancers. However, the implication of RBM8A in glioblastoma progression remains unclear. Methods: Glioblastoma (GBM) data set was downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Differential expression analysis was used to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GBM and control, RBM8A high and low expression samples, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene Genomes (KEGG) analysis were performed on the co-upregulated DEGs. Additionally, We investigated the expression levels of RBM8A in 94 glioblastoma patients and explored the correlation between the RBM8A expressions with prognosis. Using in vitro and in vivo assays, we addressed the functional impacts of RBM8A on and the underlying mechanisms through which RBM8A contribute to glioblastoma progression. In addition, a comprehensive regulatory network of RBM8A regulation was constructed based on STRING database. Molecular docking model was used to predict the possibility of RBM8A binding to target genes. Combined with TCGA and Chinese glioma genome map (CGGA), gene set variance analysis (GSVA) was used to calculate the GSVA scores of the genes involved in the mechanism. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) curve analysis and survival analysis were performed to explore the prognostic and diagnostic ability of GSVA score for GBM. Results: Our results indicate that higher RBM8A expression in glioblastoma tissues was associated with a poor prognosis. In addition, functional enrichment analysis based on genes related to RBM8A expression showed that RBM8A was related to cell cycle and Notch signaling pathway. RBM8A may promote glioblastoma cell proliferation and migration by activating Notch/STAT3 pathway in glioblastoma cells. In vitro and in vivo assays confirmed that knocking down RBM8A inhibited glioblastoma progression and invasion ability. We also observed that the pro-oncogenic effects of RBM8A in glioblastoma tissues were mediated by activation of the Notch/STAT3 pathway. Finally, it was concluded that the GSVA score has good diagnostic and prognostic value for GBM. Conclusions: RBM8A may promote glioblastoma cell proliferation and migration by activating Notch/STAT3 pathway in glioblastoma cells, suggesting that RBM8A may serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of glioblastoma.