|
|
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major global health concern and is often diagnosed at advanced stages with poor clinical outcomes. Apelin early ligand A (APELA) has been identified as a potential contributor to tumor progression, but its role in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) remains unclear.
Methods: The present study integrated transcriptomic data obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to evaluate the APELA expression in COAD. Then, the expression profile, diagnostic/prognostic value, co-expression networks, and functional pathways of APELA were evaluated by in silico analysis approaches, such as R and STRING. Afterwards, the associated biological processes were explored by Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA).
Results: Compared to normal controls, the APELA expression was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues. However, there was no significant difference between the normal mucosa and adenomas. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated the potential of the APELA expression as a diagnostic marker. The high APELA expression correlated to the poor prognosis in COAD patients. The functional network analysis identified an asso-ciation of APELA to PI3K signaling regulation and revealed that its co-expressed genes were downregulated in NK CD56 bright cells. GO and KEGG enrichment highlighted the roles of APELA expression in angiogenesis and cell migration. GSEA revealed that the APELA expression was positively associated with respiratory electron transport and protein synthesis pathways but negatively associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling.
Conclusions: APELA influences CRC progression through multiple pathways (ECM remodeling, metabolic adaptation, and immune modulation), suggesting its potential as a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target in CRC.
DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2025.250677
|
