MFNG is an independent prognostic marker for osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OS) has been the most common malignancy of the bone in children and adolescents, and the unsatisfactory prognosis of OS sufferers has long been a hard nut. Here, we delved into the markers with a prognostic value for predicting the prognosis of OS patients. METHODS: The messenger RNA (mRNA) sequencing data and clinical data of OS were retrieved from a Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset (GSE39058). Next, prognosis-related genes (PRGs) were filtered with the aid of Kaplan–Meier (K-M) curves and Cox regression analysis (CRA). Later, Gene Ontology (GO) biological process analysis was used in verifying the function of different genes. CCK-8 and cell apoptosis assay were performed to evaluate the function of MFNG in U2OS cells. RESULTS: Among the obtained genes, Manic Fringe (MFNG) had the closest relevance to prognosis and clinical traits, thus becoming the research object herein. In light of the expression level of MFNG, patients fell into high- and low-MFNG groups. Patients with elevated MFNG expression had a worse prognosis, according to the survival analysis. It was unveiled by the univariate and multivariate analyses that MFNG expression was an independent adverse prognostic factor for disease-free survival in OS patients (p = 0.006). Meanwhile, MFNG expression was linked to gender and tumor recurrence, and it was higher in patients with OS recurrence. Moreover, overexpression of MFNG promoted the cell proliferation and inhibited the cell apoptosis of U2OS cells. CONCLUSIONS: The expression level of MFNG negatively correlated with OS progression, and as an independent adverse prognostic factor for disease-free survival in OS patients. Moreover, MFNG regulated the cell proliferation and apoptosis of OS cells. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40001-023-01139-x.