Shugoshin 2 (SGO2), a component of the cell division cohesion complex, is involved in both mitotic and meiotic processes. Despite being overexpressed in various malignant tumors and is associated with poor prognosis, its exact role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and its biological effects on lung cancer cells are not well understood.

Our findings suggest that SGO2 may be a promising prognostic biomarker for LUAD, particularly in regulating the cell cycle and benefiting from multiple therapies.

The transcriptomics data and clinical information for LUAD were obtained from TCGA and GEO, and DEGs associated with prognostic risk factors were screened using Cox regression analysis and chi-square testing. Identify these gene functions using correlation heatmaps, protein interaction networks (PPIs), and KEGG enrichment assays. The expression of SGO2 in tissues was verified by PCR and IHC, and the prognostic value of SGO2 in LUAD was evaluated by survival analysis. In addition, the effects of SGO2 knockdown on lung cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were studied in vitro. After that, the TIMER database and single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA) analysis were used to investigate the correlation between SGO2 and immune infiltration. Finally, the tumor mutational burden (TMB) of different SGO2 clusters and the efficacy of the two clusters in multiple treatments were evaluated.

High-risk genes associated with poor prognosis in LUAD are involved in cell cycle regulation and proliferation. Among these genes, SGO2 exhibited high expression in LUAD and corresponded with the TNM stage. Furthermore, the knockdown of SGO2 led to a decrease in the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT processes of lung cancer cells. Notably, high SGO2 expression may have poorer anti-tumor immunity and may therefore be more suitable for immunotherapy to re-establish immune function, while its high expression with a higher TMB could enable LUAD to benefit from multiple therapies.