CENPO Drives Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression through Glycolytic Enhancement

Background Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a common skin cancer with limited targeted therapeutic options. This study revealed that CENPO is highly expressed in cSCC and is closely related to patient survival. However, the functional role of CENPO in cSCC remains unclear. Methods The differential expression of CENPO in cSCC and its correlation with clinical prognosis were analyzed via the TCGA database. A CENPO knockdown lentivirus was constructed to assess its biological functions through in vitro experiments, including cell proliferation assays, scratch wound healing assays, invasion assays, and apoptosis assays. Protein expression levels were evaluated by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Additionally, tumor growth was monitored in vivo via a subcutaneous tumor model. Results TCGA database analysis results and clinical immunohistochemical results revealed that CENPO is significantly overexpressed in cSCC and that its expression levels correlate positively with clinical grade and stage. With CENPO knockdown, cSCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion were reduced, whereas cell apoptosis was increased. Furthermore, the levels of the key aerobic glycolysis proteins GLUT1, HK2 and PKM2 were decreased with CENPO knockdown. The results of the subcutaneous tumor experiments revealed that tumor growth was inhibited in the CENPO-knockdown group. Conclusions CENPO enhances cell proliferation, invasion, migration and antiapoptotic ability by enhancing aerobic glycolysis in cSCC cells. In summary, CENPO could serve as a new biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of cSCC.