An integrative pan-cancer analysis reveals the carcinogenic effects of NCAPH in human cancer.

BACKGROUND

Non-chromosomal structure maintenance protein condensin complex I subunit H (NCAPH) has been reported to play a regulatory role in a variety of cancers and is associated with tumor poor prognosis. This study aims to explore the potential role of NCAPH with a view to providing insights on pathologic mechanisms.

METHODS

The expression of NCAPH in different tumors was explored by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx). The prognostic value of NCAPH was retrieved through GEPIA and Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases. Tumor Immunity Estimation Resource (TIMER) and Single-Sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to search for the association of NCAPH with tumor immune infiltration. The cBioPortal and PhosphoSite Plus databases showed NCAPH phosphorylation status in tumors. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed using bioinformatics.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that NCAPH showed high expression levels in a wide range of tumor types, and was strongly correlated with the prognosis of patients. Moreover, a higher phosphorylation level at S59, S67, S76, S190, S222 and T38 site was discovered in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC). NCAPH overexpression was positively correlated with the infiltration level of CD8+T cells and myeloid dendritic infiltration in breast cancer and thymoma.

CONCLUSIONS

The up-regulation of NCAPH was significantly correlated with the poor prognosis and immune infiltration in pan-cancer, and NCAPH could be served as a potential immunotherapeutic target for cancers.