Mechanistic study of GALNT16 promoting malignant progression and metastasis in bladder cancer: functional analysis and experimental validation.

Background: Bladder cancer is highly malignant, but specific biomarkers and molecular targets are lacking. The aim of this study was to screen bladder cancer progression-related differential genes based on those associated with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging, and to validate them by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Methods: Common genes were screened and prognostically analyzed by cross-analyzing differential genes in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database for bladder cancer stages T1-2 and T3-4, N1 and N2, and M0 and M1. The functions were further identified by enrichment analysis, and the biological functions of the differential genes in bladder cancer were verified using in vivo and in vitro experiments. Results: The shared gene polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 16 (GALNT16) was identified by cross-analysis of differential genes between T1-2 and T3-4 stages, N1 and N2 stages, and M0 and M1 stages. Further analysis showed that GALNT16 was involved in a variety of signaling pathways and biological functions, especially related to tumor metastasis, and correlated with immune cell infiltration status. In addition, ex vivo and in vivo functional experiments demonstrated that GALNT16 was able to influence the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway-related proteins, thereby promoting the proliferation, migration and invasive ability of bladder cancer. Conclusions: GALNT16 can promote malignant progression of bladder cancer and may be a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for bladder cancer.