Pan-cancer analysis of oncogenic role of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) and validation in liver hepatocellular carcinoma.

While vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) is a key cytoskeletal regulatory protein linked to oral squamous cell carcinoma development, its role in other cancers remains unexplored. In this study, we employed the TCGA database, ESTIMATE algorithm, and TIMER to investigate the correlations of VASP with survival outcomes, clinical features, and immune cell infiltration. We also utilized GO, KEGG, and GSEA enrichment analyses to explore its potential functions and constructed a PPI network using STRING and Cytoscape. Our pan-cancer analysis revealed that VASP mRNA was upregulated in ten and downregulated in six tumor types compared to normal tissues. Of particular interest, aberrant VASP expression was significantly associated with the progression and poor prognosis of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The level of VASP mRNA showed notable upregulation in LIHC, and its expression was positively correlated with the levels of T-cell exhaustion markers. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that VASP could serve as an independent diagnostic biomarker for this cancer type. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that VASP participates in several tumor-related processes, such as extracellular matrix degradation and the chemokine signaling pathway. In addition, VASP protein levels were observed to be significantly elevated in LUAD tissues compared to normal controls. VASP knockdown markedly suppressed the migratory capacity of LUAD cells in vitro. In conclusion, the aberrant expression of VASP is associated with poor prognosis in LIHC and LUAD, and VASP could be used as a novel predictive biomarker for LIHC patients.