CENPO is Associated with Immune Cell Infiltration and is a Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

PURPOSE: To examine the expression, clinical significance, and potential regulatory mechanism of centromere protein O (CENPO) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: CENPO expression in pan-cancer was studied using the TCGA-GTEx database, in HCC and normal liver tissues using the GEO and TCGA databases, and in clinical HCC samples by RT-qPCR. The diagnostic value of CENPO was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses of factors associated with HCC prognosis were performed. CENPO function and its mechanism in HCC were explored using GO, KEGG, and GSEA analyses of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Association of CENPO expression with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint-associated molecules was conducted using TCGA data and the TIMER2.0 database. Relationships between CENPO expression and DNA methylation were analyzed using the UALCAN and cBioPortal databases. CENPO expression in HCC cell lines was detected using RT-qPCR. RESULTS: CENPO is upregulated in most cancers, including HCC and cell lines, and is a potential biomarker for HCC diagnosis (AUC = 0.936, 95% CI: 0.911–0.960). Higher CENPO expression was associated with poorer outcomes in patients with HCC (OS, p = 0.004; DSS, p = 0.002; PFI, p < 0.001), and CENPO was an independent predictor of factors influencing overall survival in HCC. DEGs between samples with high and low CENPO levels were enriched in various biological processes, including activation of the G2M checkpoint and other signaling pathways, while CENPO expression correlated with HCC immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint-associated molecules, as well as CENPO promoter methylation (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In HCC and cell lines, CENPO is overexpressed, a potential diagnostic marker and an indicator of poor prognosis. CENPO may regulate HCC development by influencing nuclear division and tumor immune infiltration and is regulated by methylation, making it a potential target for HCC immunotherapy.