Multiple roles of THY1 in gastric cancer based on data mining

BACKGROUND: THY1 (CD90) is a heavily N-glycosylated, glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored cell surface protein, which has been implicated in several cancers. But, the specific mechanism and function of the THY1 gene remains unclear in gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: To investigate the function of THY1 in GC and illustrate the potential mechanism, TCGA and FIREBROWSE were used to detect the THY1expression. GEPIA2 and Kaplan-Meier Plotter showed significant correlation among THY1 mRNA level, TNM stage and survival probability of GC patients. RESULTS: THY1 was up-regulated apparently in GC in contrast to normal tissues and linked to TNM stage. GC patients with higher THY1 expression displayed lower overall survival (OS), first progression (FP) and post-progression survival (PPS). In vitro experiments showed that knockdown of THY1 suppressed proliferation, migration while increased autophagy level in GC cells. Immune factors may interact with THY1mRNA in GC and THY1 was found significantly linked with Tregs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that higher THY1 level is link to poor prognosis of GC patients. THY1may as well be used as a marker molecule for evaluating the tumor microenvironment status of GC patients and a target for immunotherapy.