SLC7A5 serves as a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma: a comprehensive analysis based on bioinformatics...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Cancer Genetics

Background:

• Solute carrier family 7 member 5 (SLC7A5) is implicated in cancer progression.
• Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary bone cancer with poor prognosis.
• Understanding novel therapeutic targets in OS is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of SLC7A5 in osteosarcoma.
• To evaluate SLC7A5 as a potential therapeutic target for OS.
• To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying SLC7A5 function in OS.

Main Methods:

• Pan-cancer analysis and TCGA data mining for SLC7A5 expression.
• LASSO regression to build a prognostic risk score model.
• In vitro cell assays (proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis) and in vivo xenograft models.
• RNA sequencing and pathway enrichment analysis (mTOR pathway).

Main Results:

• SLC7A5 is significantly overexpressed in osteosarcoma and associated with poor prognosis, multifocality, and metastasis.
• A prognostic risk score model based on SLC7A5-related genes effectively stratified OS patients.
• SLC7A5 overexpression promoted OS cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while silencing inhibited these and induced apoptosis.
• SLC7A5 regulates mTOR pathway phosphorylation and accelerates tumor growth in vivo.

Conclusions:

• SLC7A5 plays a critical role in osteosarcoma progression.
• SLC7A5 is a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.
• Targeting SLC7A5 may offer a novel strategy for osteosarcoma treatment via the mTOR pathway.