TSPAN31 regulates the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells through the METTL1/CCT2 pathway

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common human malignancies worldwide, but the molecular mechanism of GC has not been fully elucidated. Tetraspanin 31 (TSPAN31) has been rarely studied in human malignant tumors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of TSPAN31 on GC. We analyzed GC tissues through high-throughput sequencing technology and chose TSPAN31 with high expression. The expression of TSPAN31 in GC was analyzed through bioinformatics website and qRT-PCR. The protein level of TSPAN31 in GC tissues was determined by western blot and immunochemistry. The proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of GC cells were detected by the cell counting kit-8, transwell, and apoptosis experiments. METTL1 and CCT2 that may co-express with TSPAN31 were predicted by the GEPIA database, and analyzed the correlation between the expression levels of TSPAN31, METTL1 and CCT2. The results shows TSPAN31 was highly expressed in GC tissues, and high expression of TSPAN31 was found to result in poor prognosis of patients with GC. TSPAN31 could regulate the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of GC cells. The relative expression levels of TSPAN31, METTL1 and CCT2 in GC were positively correlated. Low expression of TSPAN31 could partially reverse the effect of high expression of METTL1 and CCT2 on the tumor progression of GC cells. In conclusion, TSPAN31 was highly expressed in GC tissues and led to poor prognosis of patients with GC. TSPAN31 may regulate the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of GC cells. This regulatory mechanism may be achieved through co-expression with METTL1 and CCT2.