DNAJB4 identified as a potential breast cancer marker: evidence from bioinformatics analysis and basic experiments

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Bioinformatics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Breast cancer (BC) remains a leading cause of cancer death in women globally.
• Understanding BC pathogenesis and identifying novel therapeutic targets are critical research areas.
• Bioinformatics and experimental techniques are key to discovering new BC targets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify hub genes involved in breast cancer development using bioinformatics.
• To investigate the role of the hub gene DNAJB4 in BC cell behavior and patient prognosis.
• To evaluate DNAJB4 as a potential therapeutic target and biomarker for breast cancer.

Main Methods:

• Bioinformatic analysis of gene expression data to identify hub genes in breast cancer.
• Biological process analysis using Bingo and survival analysis via Kaplan-Meier Plotter.
• Detection of DNAJB4 expression in BC cell lines and clinical specimens.
• In vitro experiments to assess the impact of DNAJB4 on cell invasion and migration.

Main Results:

• Ten hub genes, including DNAJB4, were identified through bioinformatics analysis.
• DNAJB4 expression was significantly downregulated in BC cell lines and tissues.
• Interference with DNAJB4 expression enhanced the invasion and migration of BC cells.
• High DNAJB4 expression correlated with longer disease-free survival (DFS) in BC patients.

Conclusions:

• DNAJB4 functions as a potential tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer.
• DNAJB4 regulates BC cell invasion and migration.
• DNAJB4 expression levels are associated with patient prognosis, indicating its clinical relevance.
• Further research is needed to validate DNAJB4's role for clinical applications in BC diagnosis and treatment.