• Huzi Xu, Xiuru Wang, Fan Zhu, Shuiming Guo, Zheng Chao, Chujin Cao, Zhihui Lu, Han Zhu, Meng Wang, Fengming Zhu, Juan Yang, Rui Zeng, and Ying Yao.
• Division of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 May 8; 60 (5).

AbstractBackground and Objectives: Connexin 43 (Cx43) is involved in the transfer of small signaling molecules between neighboring cells, thereby exerting a major influence on the initiation and progression of tumorigenesis. However, there is a lack of systematic research on Cx43 expression and its predictive role in clinical diagnosis and prognosis in pan-cancer. Materials and Methods: Several biological databases were used to evaluate the expression levels of GJA1 (encoding Cx43) and its diagnostic and prognostic significance in pan-cancer. We targeted kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) and investigated the relationship between GJA1 expression and different clinical features of KIRC patients. Then, we performed cell-based experiments to partially confirm our results and predicted several proteins that were functionally related to Cx43. Results: The expression of GJA1 has a high level of accuracy in predicting KIRC. High GJA1 expression was remarkably correlated with a favorable prognosis, and this expression was reduced in groups with poor clinical features in KIRC. Cell experiments confirmed the inhibitory effects of increased GJA1 expression on the migratory capacity of human renal cancer (RCC) cell lines, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis predicted that CDH1 and CTNNB1 were closely related to Cx43. Conclusions: GJA1 could be a promising independent favorable prognostic factor for KIRC, and upregulation of GJA1 expression could inhibit the migratory capacity of renal cancer cells.

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