Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis on exportins in lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Exportins are closely associated with the cellular activity and disease progression in a variety of different tumors. However, the expression level, genetic variation, immune infiltration and biological function of different exportins in LUAD and LUSC and their relationship with the prognosis of LUAD and LUSC patients have not been fully clarified. Methods In this study, ONCOMINE, UALCAN, HPA, Kaplan-Meier plotter, cBioPortal, STRING, DAVID, TIMER and LinkedOmics databases were used to analyze the differential expression, prognostic value, genetic variation, biological function and immune cell infiltration of exportins in patients with LUAD and LUSC. Results The transcriptional and protein expression levels of CSE1L and XPO1 / 5 / 6 / 7 were increased in LUAD and LUSC patients, and the increased transcriptional levels of CSE1L and XPO5 / 6 / 7 were related to worse prognosis. The increased transcriptional level of XPO1 suggested a better prognosis. These results indicated that CSE1L and XPO1 / 5 / 6 / 7 may be potential prognostic biomarkers for the survival of patients with LUAD and LUSC. Besides, the high mutation rate of exportins in NSCLC was 50.48%, and the largest proportion of mutations was high mRNA expression. The expression of exportins was significantly correlated with the infiltration of various immune cells. Differentially expressed exportins could regulate the occurrence and development of LUAD and LUSC by involving a variety of miRNAs and transcription factor E2F1. Conclusions Our study could provide novel insights for the selection of prognostic biomarkers of exportins in LUAD and LUSC.