TITLE:
Comprehensive Analysis of Prognostic and Diagnostic Value, Immune Infiltration, and Co-Regulation Networks of Centromere Protein Family Members in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
AUTHORS:
Guohao Yin, Tao Liu, Wei Qin
KEYWORDS:
Centromere Protein Family Members, Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Prognosis, Diagnostic Value, Immune Infiltration
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.13 No.10,
October
13,
2025
ABSTRACT: Aim: The centromere protein family members (CENPs) are a mitosis-associated protein family. Accumulative evidence indicates that CENPs are abnormally expressed and affect the occurrence and development of a variety of tumors, but their functions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain unclear. In this study, we systematically analyzed CENPs in PDAC. Methods: Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), Kaplan-Meier plotter, cBioPortal, Oncomine, TIMER, Metascape, and NetworkAnalyst were used to analyze differential expression, prognostic and diagnostic value, genetic alteration, immune cell infiltration, functional enrichment, and co-regulation networks of CENPs in PDAC patients. The higher expression levels and prognostic values of CENPs in PDAC were determined by GEPIA and Kaplan-Meier Plotter. Results: The 7 hub CENPs (CENPA, CENPE, CENPF, CENPK, CENPL, CENPM, and CENPN) that predict worse prognosis caused by genetic alteration were identified by cBioPortal. Overexpression of these genes in PDAC was further confirmed by the Oncomine and GEO databases. The diagnostic values of CENPs were evaluated by ROC curves. The expression of CENPs was also significantly correlated with the infiltration of diverse immune cells in PDAC. Finally, we constructed interaction and co-regulation networks of CENPs and analyzed their functions. Conclusion: Taken together, these results indicated that 7 hub CENPs (CENPA, CENPE, CENPF, CENPK, CENPL, CENPM, and CENPN) could be prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers as well as possible synergistic targets of immunotherapy for PDAC patients.