Expression patterns and functional study of ephrin-A1 and special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 in ovarian cancer
YAO Na
WANG Xiaoman
Abstract：Objective To investigate the expression patterns,biological functions,and prognostic value of ephrin-A1(EFNA1)and special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2(SATB2)in ovarian cancer.Methods A total of 120 patients with ovarian cancer admitted to the Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2020 to June 2022 were enrolled.According to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 and clinical outcomes by June 30,2025,patients were divided into a favorable prognosis group(n=62)and a poor prognosis group(n=58).Serum EFNA1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and SATB2 mRNA expression in ovarian cancer tissues was detected by quantitative real-time PCR.Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze factors influencing poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients.The diagnostic efficacy of EFNA1 and SATB2 for prognosis was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Bioinformatics databases were employed to analyze the expression profiles of EFNA1 and SATB2 in ovarian cancer tissues and their association with overall survival.EFNA1 and SATB2 overexpression plasmids and silencing vectors were constructed and transfected into the human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3,with empty vector control,negative siRNA control,and corresponding treatment groups established.Cell viability was assessed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay,and cell invasion ability was evaluated by Transwell assay.Results Database analysis revealed upregulated EFNA1 expression in ovarian cancer tissues(P＜0.05),and high EFNA1 expression was associated with reduced overall survival(HR=1.17,P=0.031).In contrast,SATB2 expression was downregulated(P＜0.05),and high SATB2 expression was correlated with improved overall survival(HR=0.83,P＜0.01).Cellular experiments confirmed that EFNA1 promoted SKOV3 cell proliferation and invasion(P＜0.01),whereas SATB2 inhibited these biological behaviors(P＜0.01).Clinical sample analysis showed that serum EFNA1 levels were significantly higher in the poor prognosis group(18.56±8.78 ng/mL)than in the favorable prognosis group(13.52±5.46 ng/mL)with significant difference(t=3.862,P＜0.001).SATB2 mRNA expression in ovarian cancer tissues was significantly lower in the poor prognosis group(3.31±0.77)compared to the favorable prognosis group(4.15±0.79)with significant difference(t=5.871,P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis indicated that the combined predictive model of EFNA1 and SATB2(area under the curve=0.865)outperformed either biomarker alone.Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that high EFNA1 expression(OR=2.243,P=0.030)and low SATB2 expression(OR=0.388,P=0.012)were independent prognostic factors for ovarian cancer patients.Conclusion EFNA1 and SATB2 genes regulate malignant biological behaviors in ovarian cancer,and their expression levels are closely associated with patient prognosis,serving as valuable biomarkers for prognostic assessment in ovarian cancer.
Keywords：ovarian cancerephrin-A1special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2expression patternbiological function
Publication Date：2026-01-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-18(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 53-60 )