GPC2 deficiency inhibits cell growth and metastasis in colon adenocarcinoma

Glypican-2 (GPC2) has been reported to promote tumor progression through metabolic pathways. However, the role of GPC2 in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) remains to be further investigated. This study was designed to evaluate the role of GPC2 in COAD. Based on patients with complete clinical information and GPC2 expression from the Cancer Genome Atlas-COAD database, we found that GPC2 mRNA was highly expressed in COAD tissues, which was associated with poor prognosis and tumornode-metastasis (TNM) stage. The predicted survival probability based on GPC2 mRNA expression and TNM stage was in good agreement with the observed survival probability. Furthermore, the genes coexpressed with GPC2 in COAD tissues were significantly enriched in basal cell carcinoma, Notch signaling pathway, and Hedgehog signaling pathway. After GPC2 was decreased through transfecting short hairpin RNA of GPC2 into HCT-8 and SW620 cells, cell cycle was arrested in G0/G1 phase, proliferation was decreased, apoptosis was increased, and migration and invasion were repressed. In conclusion, decreasing GPC2 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, and enhanced apoptosis, which implied that GPC2 can be considered a promising therapeutic target of COAD in the future.