Comprehensive analysis of the biological function and immune infiltration of SLC38A2 in gastric cancer

Background Solute carrier family 38 member 2 (SLC38A2) has previously been reported to participate in carcinogenesis. However, its expression and function in gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the role of SLC38A2 in GC. Methods The prognostic value and expression of SLC38A2 in GC was analyzed by combining bioinformatics and experimental analyses. Colony formation, Cell Counting Kit-8, wound healing, Transwell and tumor formation assays were performed to assess the biological function of SLC38A2. The cBioPortal, GeneMANIA and LinkedOmics databases were mined to determine the underlying regulatory mechanisms of SLC38A2. The role of SLC38A2 in tumor immune infiltration was explored using the TIMER database. Results Our results demonstrated that SLC38A2 was upregulated and was correlated with a poor prognosis in GC patients. SLC38A2 downregulation significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of GC cells. Abnormal genetic alteration and epigenetic regulation may contribute to the upregulation of SLC38A2 expression levels in GC. The results of enrichment analysis demonstrated that SLC38A2 was associated with ‘hippo signaling’ and ‘ubiquitinyl hydrolase activity’. The results also indicated that SLC38A2 may be a key factor in GC immune infiltration and M2 macrophage polarization. Conclusion Overall, these data identified that SLC38A2 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in GC.