CCNI2 promotes the progression of human gastric cancer through HDGF

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is a highly aggressive malignant tumor with heterogeneity and is still a global health problem. The present study aimed to investigate the role of Cyclin I-like (CCNI2) in the regulation of phenotype and tumorigenesis, as well as its underlying mechanisms. METHOD: The expression profile of CCNI2 in gastric cancer was determined based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and immunohistochemical staining. The effects of altered CCNI2 expression on the biological phenotypes such as proliferation, clone formation, apoptosis and migration of gastric cancer cell lines BGC-823 and SGC-7901 were investigated. Mice xenograft models were established to reveal the role of CCNI2 knockdown on tumorigenesis. The potential mechanism of CCNI2 regulating gastric cancer was preliminarily determined by RNA sequencing. RESULT: CCNI2 was abundantly expressed in gastric cancer and was positively correlated with pathological stage. Knockdown of CCNI2 slowed down the malignant progression of gastric cancer by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, increasing the susceptibility to apoptosis and suppressing migration. Moreover, downregulation of CCNI2 attenuated the ability of gastric cancer cells to form tumors in mice. Additionally, there was an interaction between CCNI2 and transcription factor hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) in SGC-7901 cells. Knockdown of CCNI2 alleviated the promoting effects of HDGF overexpression in gastric cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: CCNI2 promoted the progression of human gastric cancer through HDGF, which drew further interest regarding its clinical application as a potential therapeutic target. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02352-6.