Abstract

Purpose

PABPN1 acts as a modulator of poly(A) tail length and alternative polyadenylation. This research was aimed to explore the role of PABPN1 in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

Public databases were performed to analyze expression, location, roles of prognosis and tumor immunity and interaction with RNAs and proteins of PABPN1. To investigate PABPN1 expression in tissues, 78 CRC specimens were collected to conduct IHC, and 30 pairs of frozen CRC and corresponding adjacent normal tissues were used to conduct qRT-PCR and WB. In addition, in vitro experiments were then carried out to identify the role of PABPN1 in CRC.

Results

Compared with normal tissues, PABPN1 expression was significant higher in CRC. Its high level predicted poor outcome of CRC. Th1 and Treg had significant negative relationships not only with PABPN1 expression, but also with six molecules interacting with PABPN1, including IFT172, KIAA0895L, RECQL4, WDR6, PABPC1 and NCBP1. In addition, PABPN1 had negative relationships with quite a few immune markers, such as CSF1R, IL-10, CCL2 and so on. In cellular experiments, silencing PABPN1 inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in HCT-116 CRC cells.

Conclusion

In summary, PABPN1 might become a novel biomarker and correlate with tumor immunity in CRC.