Abstract
Cell division cycle-associated (CDCA) genes are dysregulated in carcinomas. Our study aims to identify similarities and differences of the clinical roles of CDCAs in breast cancer (BRCA) and to explore their potential mechanisms. In GEPIA, compared to normal tissues, expressions of CDCAs were higher in BRCA and sub-types. In addition, CDCAs were significantly positively related to stages and predicted worse survival in BRCA. In CancerSEA, expression levels of most CDCAs were strongly positively related to cell cycle, DNA damage, DNA repair, and proliferation. In TIMER, CDCAs were linked with immune infiltration levels of BRCA, including Dendritic cell, B cell and so on, and were positively related to most of the common markers of immune cells, especially CD38 of B cell and IL12RB2 of Th1. In GeneMANIA, there were complex interactions and co-expression relationships between CDCAs and cell division-associated genes. In addition, CDCA1, CDCA3, CDCA5, CDCA6 and CDCA8 had a high proportion of amplification in BRCA, and CDCA1, CDCA2, CDCA5, CDCA7 and CDCA8 had high levels of body DNA methylation. Among 11 transcription factors possibly combining promoters of all CDCAs, FOXP3 and YY1 were significantly higher in BRCA in comparison to normal tissues, and both had a positive relationship with all CDCAs in GEPIA and IHC. In addition, silencing FOXP3 or YY1 decreased levels of CDCAs in MDA-MB-231. In summary, CDCAs have various similarities in clinical functions, functional states, immune infiltration, and mechanisms, and they may become novel potential biomarkers for BRCA.