Non-SMC condensin I complex subunit H (NCAPH), a regulator of cell cycle, predicts poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma patients: a study mainly based on TCGA and GEO database

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the main sub-type of lung cancer, which is a major disease of human death. However, the role of non-SMC condensin I complex subunit H (NCAPH) in LUAD and its possible upstream regulation microRNAs (miRNAs) remains unclearly. METHODS: In this study, we analyzed the NCAPH mRNA and protein expression in normal and cancer tissues mainly based on Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. With the help of the Kaplan Meier plotter, we explored the prognosis role in LUAD. Furtherly, the co-expressed genes of NCAPH in LUAD were obtained by using cBioPortal, GEPIA and UALCAN database. Then, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of co-expression genes of NCAPH was conducted by DAVID, while the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed with STRING and hub genes were identified and visualized by Cytoscape software. We also investigated the miRNAs and chemicals that may downregulated the NCAPH expression. RESULTS: The results showed that NCAPH expression level was elevated in LUAD tissue compared with normal lung tissue and predicted poor prognosis. GO and KEGG pathway enriched analysis of co-expressed genes suggested that NCAPH may play an important role in cell cycle in LUAD. Nine top hub co-expressed genes were all negatively related to the LUAD prognosis. Lastly, 8 miRNAs and 5 chemicals were identified to have the potential to down-regulate the NCAPH expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that NCAPH expression in LUAD is a poor prognostic indicator, which may be the potential therapeutic target in the future.