as a driver in the proliferation and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma via regulation.

BACKGROUND

Interferon-stimulated 20-kDa exonuclease-like 2 () is a gene that shows variable expression levels in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Despite this, its role and expression in LUAD have not been well characterized. This study focused on analyzing the expression of in LUAD, its association with patient prognosis, and its potential regulatory influence on NK2 homeobox 1 () in LUAD cells.

METHODS

We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and immunohistochemistry to assess the expression of . Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was employed to determine the relationship between expression and prognosis in patients with LUAD. The diagnostic potential of in LUAD was evaluated through receiving operating characteristic curve analysis. The association between expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed with the Fisher exact test. Overexpression and depletion studies of were performed via transient transfection. The biological functions of in A549 cells, such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion, were examined via Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, and Transwell assays. Bioinformatics analysis suggested a link between and , which was subsequently confirmed through cytological experiments.

RESULTS

Our results demonstrated that was overexpressed in LUAD, and this overexpression was significantly correlated with poor prognosis. experiments further supported a positive association between expression and the proliferative, migratory, and invasive capabilities in A549 cells, with no notable effect on apoptosis. Functional assays confirmed that enhanced A549 cell proliferation and invasion by modulating .

CONCLUSIONS

promotes LUAD progression via regulation, implying the potential of the axis as a candidate biomarker and therapeutic target in LUAD.